Image Credit: Avlxyz

Image credit: avlxyz
• Introduction
• Methodology
• Trends in Food
• Appendix
– Influencer/Expert Q&As
– Additional Charts
A note to readers: To make the report easy to navigate, we’ve added hyperlinks to this page and the Trends in Food pages, so
you can jump immediately to the items that most interest you (or, alternatively, you can read the material straight through).
2
What and how we eat today might look quite baffling to anyone who’s missed the past decade:
Gluten-free treats from a food truck? “Foodspotting” an order of locally sourced, heirloom
vegetables? Yet at the same time we’re reconnecting with our past, looking to eat more
communally and celebrating regional food traditions, even digging up antique recipes.
This report surveys what’s changing when it comes to how we find, cook and eat food, how we
think about what we eat and how brands are marketing food. It doesn’t, however, attempt to
round up everything of note in the wide world of food and beverage. Rather, it focuses on eight
of the relevant macro trends we’ve highlighted in the past few years, plus three overarching
trends affecting the food category: the influence of technology, health and wellness, and foodie
culture. Within these trends, we spotlight some of the things to watch we’ve been tracking.
3
JWT’s “What’s Cooking? Trends in Food” is the result of quantitative, qualitative and desk research
conducted by JWTIntelligence throughout the year. Specifically for this report, we conducted
quantitative surveys in the U.S. and the U.K. using SONAR™, JWT’s proprietary online tool. We surveyed
1,270 adults aged 21-plus (768 Americans and 502 Britons) from Jan. 19-24; data are weighted by age,
gender and income.
We also received input from JWT planners across several markets—including the U.K., Spain,
Venezuela, Argentina, Poland, South Africa and Thailand—and interviewed experts and influencers in
food and beverage.*
SUDHIR KANDULA, ELISE KORNACK, MICHAEL LEE, STEPHANIE STIAVETTI,

America’s Next co-founder, Take Root; founder, Studiofeast food blogger
Great Restaurant Chopped contestant (TheCulinaryLife.com)
contestant and writer
*To read our Q&As with these influencers/experts, see Appendix.
4
1. FOODIE CULTURE 2. FOOD AS THE 3. THE DEVIL WEARS 4. HEALTH AND 5. MAXIMUM 6. LIVE A LITTLE
• Food as Theater NEW ECO-ISSUE PACKAGING WELLNESS DISCLOSURE • The Lipstick Index
• Food Fairs • Spiking Food • BYO Containers • Fooducate • Labeling Effect
Prices • Reusable • Nutrition Scores Legalities • A Little Serving
• Food by
Subscription • From Staples to Packaging • Fat Taxes • Tell-All Vending of Sin
Luxuries • Hydration Stations Machines
• Fearless Eating • Healthy and Fresh
• Greener Supply Vending Machines • Going Behind
• Kitchen- Chains the Scenes
Restaurants • Gluten-Free
• Greening • Visual Fluency
• Roots Revival Restaurants • Hold the Salt
• Antique Eats • Carbon Footprint • Inhaling
• Moonshine Labeling • Smart Lunchrooms
• Heirloom • Curbing Food • Organic Fast Food
Everything Waste
• What’s New in
• New Nordic • Veering Vegan/ Functional Foods
Cuisine Vegetarian
- Food, Ph.D.
• Beer Sommeliers • Insects as Protein
- Artery-Cleaning
• Beer Cocktails • Artificial Meat Foods
• High-End • Sustainable - Mushrooms
Techniques Palm Oil
- Matcha
for Amateurs • Rooftop Farming
- Slow Beverages
- Greek Yogurt
- Spices
- Juicing Up
Coconut
- Nutricosmetics
5
7. NAVIGATING THE 8. GETTING 9. ALL THE WORLD’S 10. SCREENED 11. RETAIL AS THE
NEW NORMAL “SMARTER” A GAME INTERACTIONS THIRD SPACE
• Smaller SKUs • Smarter • Apps That Gamify • Screened Dining • Food Halls
Cookbooks Eating • Kiosks/Vending • Communal Eating
• Smarter Recipes • Gamifying the Machines • Shops That
• Smarter Kitchens Business Model • Interactive Out- Do More
• Smarter Ordering of-Home Ads
• Smarter Shopping
• Smarter Packaging
6
• Food as Theater • Moonshine
Yesterday’s gourmand has multiplied into factions of foodies all with • Food Fairs • Heirloom
Everything
various passions centered around cooking, dining out and eating, • Food by
Subscription • New Nordic Cuisine
eating, eating. A foodie backlash may be under way, but food remains
• Fearless Eating • Beer Sommeliers
more photographed, analyzed, critiqued and generally obsessed over
• Kitchen- • Beer Cocktails
than it’s ever been. Restaurants
• High-end Techniques
• Roots Revival for Amateurs
• Antique Eats • What It Means
for Brands
Image credit: gwen 7

Foodies take their dining seriously, but that doesn’t mean • Le Fooding, a French gastronomic group, puts on
it can’t be fun: We’ve seen the rise of theatrical events conceptual events like last year’s “Exquisite Corpse”:
that turn eating into a high-concept production filled with Borrowing from the surrealist idea, the 48-hour New York
surprise and whimsy. event involved 12 successive dinners in which each high-
profile chef was required to use some ingredients from
• Last year several New York dining clubs banded together to
the previous chef’s meal.
serve an upscale six-course lunch aboard the L subway train
as it traveled from Manhattan through Brooklyn. Invitees • The group Chicago Foodies has started a “Unique Dinner
didn’t know what they were in for—they met at a given Series” to challenge chefs’ creativity. The inaugural
intersection and then were guided underground. The event event, in January, was titled “16 Courses of Black.”
wasn’t officially sanctioned, only adding to its allure.
• At Dans le Noir, a restaurant with branches in several
• “Dîner en Blanc,” an idea that began in Paris, is akin to European cities and New York, diners eat in the dark, only
a “refined flash-mob feast,” as The New York Times put finding out what they ate after the meal.
it: Several hundred to a few thousand people, all wearing
white, dine in a public spot, bringing their own food and
tables. The location is secret until the day it takes place.
More than a thousand attendees participated in the first
New York Dîner en Blanc last year.
Image credit: Dîner en Blanc 8

Along with foodie-ism, a couple of trends—green markets,
mobile vendors (food trucks), affinity for local purveyors
and the DIY movement—are helping to propel local food
fairs: markets comprising vendors that each focus on a few
specialty dishes or goods. For instance, New York foodies
flock to Smorgasburg, on the waterfront in Williamsburg,
Brooklyn, which hosts about 75 vendors once a week during
non-winter months.
“Food raves,” markets that don’t require vendors to have

permits and insurance, are also popping up. In San Francisco,
bands play at the periodic SF Underground Market, which
runs from late morning till the wee hours and requires
“membership” for entry. Similar markets big and small
operate in other cities, from The Secret Fork in L.A. to the
DC Grey Market in Washington.
Image credits: Smorgasburg;

DC Grey Market 9
Old-fashioned monthly subscription services are on the • Craft Coffee sends three varieties of coffee per month,
upswing, but rather than the typical wine or fruit of the all from small roasters around America.
month, they offer curated selections for foodies who like
the idea of receiving surprise packages and staying attuned • Love With Food uses the “buy one, donate one” model,
to what’s new and notable. donating a meal to a food bank for every box of “curated
gourmet bites” purchased.
• Gilt Taste’s selections—ranging from whimsical whoopie
pies to game meats—are curated by former Gourmet
editor and author Ruth Reichl.
• Foodzie calls itself a “Tasting Club” and selects foods

from various sources, many of them small-batch
producers. Subscribers choose among three boxes each
month.
• Blissmobox, which offers several monthly options of

organic and eco-friendly products, recently added
BREAKbox, an assortment of healthy, high-quality snacks
designed to stock the office kitchenette.
Image credits: Craft Coffee;

Gilt Taste; Love With Food 10
Unconventional ingredients, meats and dishes are While such items have been filtering onto restaurant plates
popping up on menus of the more trendy variety, often for some time, today’s foodies are ordering them with an
in conjunction with the nose-to-tail trend. In the U.S., eagerness that rivals Andrew Zimmern’s (the intrepid host
foods not typically found in the American diet—such as of TV’s Bizarre Foods). These forays outside established
cockscombs, alligator and lamb’s brain—are finding favor. comfort zones help people stand out in the social media
The hot L.A. restaurant Animal is filled with options mom stream and earn some cred among fellow foodies. And
likely never cooked, including pig ears and sweetbreads. after years of broadening their palates, foodies have
In the U.K., where such foods have also been shied away nowhere to go but the bizarre.
from, Londoners are abuzz about Brawn, which serves pigs’
trotters and head of veal.
Insects are another “fear factor” ingredient gaining traction:

A Mexican food cart in San Francisco, Don Bugito, focuses
on exotic dishes like ice cream topped with caramelized
mealworms. Last year for Cinco de Mayo, Dos Equis’
“Feast of the Brave” promotion in New York involved
a food truck giving away free cricket, ostrich or veal
brain tacos.
Image credit: brianplattcreative.com 11

The wall between the kitchen and the restaurant dining
room has been disappearing—allowing curious customers to
watch the cooks in action—and now some restaurants are
conflating the two altogether.
For example, The Kitchen Restaurant in Sacramento, Calif.,

offers a six-course meal, with diners encouraged to make
themselves at home. Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, in
Brooklyn, lets 18 guests watch the chef cook 20 or so small
plate courses.
The concept lets curious foodies feel like true insiders and
“unwraps the process” for patrons, providing the behind-the-
scenes view that consumers are increasingly interested in.
Image credit: The Kitchen Restaurant 12

As various international foods infiltrate markets
worldwide—sushi is going mass market in Venezuela;
Mexican and Argentinean restaurants are finding favor in
Australia—there’s concurrently a new appreciation for
national and regional foods, and cooking techniques unique
to one’s heritage. In Greece, for instance, local brands
are prospering and touting their Greekness, while major
foreign brands are playing up Greek ingredients or “Made
in Greece.”
Last year, in an “Open Letter to the Chefs of Tomorrow,”

members of the International Advisory Board of the Basque
Culinary Center reminded peers that “Through our cooking,
our ethics, and our aesthetics, we can contribute to the
culture and identity of a people, a region, a country. We
can also serve as an important bridge with other cultures.”
With foodies seeking out more “authentic” and homemade-

style foods, there’s a robust market for distinctive foods
beyond the geography in question.
Image credits: Amazon [1], [2], [3] 13

The heritage trend is making its way to food, with chefs
digging up recipes and adding ingredients from yesteryear.
The hot restaurant Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in London
serves bygone British dishes. In Charleston, S.C., Sean
Brock relies on traditionally Southern heirloom produce and
heritage meats at his restaurant Husk, earning “best new
restaurant in America” honors from Bon Appétit in 2011.
Some of this is for the more adventurous (e.g., Grant Achatz’s

duck with blood sauce in Chicago), but in the U.K., at least,
everyday consumers are preparing meats that hearken back
to older eras, like pheasant, venison and wood pigeon.
Image credit: dinnerbyheston.com 14

White lightnin’: This all-American corn whiskey—commonly
called moonshine—is going legit as legal distilleries across
the U.S. churn out batches of the outlaw spirit. A Prohibition
favorite, the unregulated throat-scalding liquor remained
a tradition in its ancestral home, the Southeastern U.S.
Now, legal moonshine is charming upscale city slickers with
the authentic look of its packaging (it’s sold in glass bottles
and mason jars, which highlight moonshine’s signature
clear cast) and its high alcohol content (frequently up to
120 proof).
The new Discovery Channel series Moonshiners, which turns

the camera on Appalachian bootleggers, may give a leg up to
legit cousins like Original Moonshine, Shine On Georgia Moon
and Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine.
Image credits: Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine;

heavenhill.com 15
“Artisanal” has become the overused term du jour in food;
“heirloom” will follow. While it’s been around for a while,
starting with tomatoes and beef, lately everything from
corn to beans has been getting an “heirloom” designation,
generally meaning an older variety that’s genetically
distinct from commercial products. (“Heirloom” is mostly
used for crops, “heritage” for livestock.) The term is
becoming shorthand for quality and natural (and, frequently,
higher prices).
Image credit: Edsel L 16

As we noted in our Things to Watch list for 2011, the foodie
focus has shifted to Copenhagen with the rising fame of
Noma, its chef René Redzepi and other inspired restaurants,
and a modified form of this cuisine is spreading well beyond
Denmark (minus unique local ingredients like elderflowers
and puffin eggs). Look for more chefs to find inspiration in
Redzepi’s emphasis on foraging for local plants, herbs and
roots, and simple but quality ingredients. The Los Angeles
restaurant Forage, for example, is—as its name implies—
based around foraged ingredients.
Image credit: Forage 17

Beer Sommeliers: As beer garners more respect in foodie
culture—perhaps a sign of the budget-minded times—
there’s a growing appreciation for the ways that, like wine,
different varieties can complement food. In 2010, Food &
Wine magazine honored one beer expert among its seven
Sommeliers of the Year. In 2011, Oxford University Press
published the first edition of The Oxford Companion to Beer.
Watch for more sommeliers or “Cicerone,” as the 300-plus
individuals who have passed a certification program are titled.
Beer Cocktails: Mixing beer and liquor may not be a first

instinct for many, but it seems beer can harmonize well with
various spirits, giving cocktails a new depth and complexity.
The “green devil,” for example, from beer writer Stephen
Beaumont, mixes the Belgian beer Duvel with absinthe and
gin. A Beer Cocktails book is due out in June.
Image credits: Amazon [1], [2] 18

Do try this at home: High-end, high-tech kitchen techniques
are increasingly filtering down to ambitious home cooks.
They’re trying out sous vide, for example, an exacting
method that involves vacuum-packing food and cooking it
at precise temperatures, yielding juicy, intensely flavorful
dishes. Upscale cookware chains including Sur La Table
and Williams-Sonoma are selling sous vide appliances like
vacuum food sealers and immersion circulators. As the
technology utilized in cookbooks like the exhaustive 2011
tome Modernist Cuisine becomes more accessible, more
at-home homogenizers and centrifuges will work their way
into retail lineups.
Image credit: modernistcuisine.com 19

• The tech-savvy foodie is far more connected to like-minded eaters than the food aficionado of old. While
the explosion in social media sharing came after the rise of foodie culture, today it’s a key driver: Half the
satisfaction is in photographing fabulous dishes and posting to Facebook or networks like Foodspotting, in turn
stirring FOMO (fear of missing out) and copycat behavior.
• The heightened interest in local and so-called artisanal foods is also helping to fuel foodie-ism. And edibles that
feel “authentic” are of particular interest, whether the food is high- or low-end, as a Packaged Facts report on
U.S. foodies notes. Since these consumers tend to eschew mainstream brands and habits, the report warns they
can be an elusive target for marketers—but adds they can also be uniquely interested in the product.
• Some U.S. restaurant chains are touting their culinary bona fides while moving away from themes of value,
convenience, service or speed—e.g., Burger King dropped its King mascot and value focus in favor of ads that play
up ingredients—as Nation’s Restaurant News recently reported. As more mass marketers latch onto buzz phrases
like “artisanal” and position themselves as worthy of foodie patronage, these consumers will grow increasingly
wary of “foodie-washing.”
20
• Spiking Food Prices • Veering Vegan/
Vegetarian
• From Staples to
The environmental impact of our food choices will become a Luxuries • Insects as Protein
more prominent concern as stakeholders—brands, governments • Greener Supply • Artificial Meat
Chains
and activist organizations—drive awareness around the issue and • Sustainable
rethink what kind of food is sold and how it’s made. As more regions
• Greening Palm Oil
Restaurants
grapple with food shortages and/or spiking costs, smarter practices
• Rooftop Farming
• Carbon Footprint • What It Means
around food will join the stable of green “best practices.” Labeling
for Brands
• Curbing Food Waste
Image credit: see.wolf 21

As extreme weather wreaks havoc on crop yields, watch
for already-high food prices to spike further thanks to
droughts, flooding and other irregularities brought on by
climate change. For example, Thailand, the world’s biggest
rice producer, is expecting smaller yields thanks in part to
its disastrous floods. In the U.S., drought in Texas thinned
cattle herds, which played a part in pushing up beef prices
by almost 10% year-over-year as of November. Seafood prices
rose almost 6% following the Japanese earthquake
and tsunami.
Image credit: toastforbrekkie 22

Beef, chocolate and other beloved staples could become Climate change is the culprit when it comes to coffee:
the caviar of the future, thanks to factors ranging from Last year Starbucks said it sees “a potentially significant
new emerging market demand, climate change and the risk” to its Arabica bean supply, looking 10 years ahead
strains of a more populous planet. and beyond. The company is working with suppliers to
combat issues like frequent hurricanes and soil erosion.
A bigger appetite for chocolate in China, coupled with
political and agricultural issues in Ivory Coast, are Some optimists, however, argue that leaps in agricultural
prompting warnings about the coca supply. Mars Chocolate science and other advances (e.g., artificial meat) will
said last year that the industry faces a 1 million-ton ensure there’s enough food to feed the planet.
cocoa shortfall by 2020 “unless more is done to promote
sustainability,” pledging to use only certified sustainable
chocolate by that time. Meanwhile, some researchers say
the Ivory Coast and Ghana could simply be too hot to grow
cocoa by 2050.
Beef could become “the caviar of the future,” an official

with the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization has
said. Consumption is forecast to double by 2050 even as
the resources needed for beef’s production dwindle. More
immediately, U.S. beef prices are spiking—up 10% last year
and likely to keep rising this year—thanks to a drought that
shrunk the U.S. cattle herd and strong export demand.
Image credit: cincomomo 23

Food marketers are working to green up their agricultural
supply chains in various ways. For example:
McDonald’s: The company established its Sustainable Land

Management Commitment in 2009. The stated goal is to ensure
that raw materials “originate from legal and sustainably managed
land resources.” In tandem with the World Wildlife Fund,
McDonald’s conducted an audit to determine where it could make
the most substantial impact. In 2011, the company focused on
its beef, poultry, coffee, palm oil and wood fiber sourcing, and
committed to sustainable palm oil sourcing by 2015.
Chipotle: This fast-casual Mexican food chain, based

around the proposition “food with integrity,” touts books
like Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food as “recommended
reading” on its website and lightheartedly warns “It’s all
fun and games until someone wrecks a planet.” Founded
in 2011, its Cultivate Foundation funds sustainable farming
initiatives, among other things. An animated film outlining
Chipotle’s mission shows a farmer’s evolution from free range
to industrial farming and then back to the older, ecologically
friendlier means of production.
Image credit: Chipotle 24

Some restaurants are seeking to become more sustainable • The Vancouver-based Green Table Network, which has
by revamping their practices in various ways, and ratings certified more than 100 operations since it was founded in
systems point the way for concerned patrons. 2007, is a nonprofit that helps food industry professionals
“get started down a greener path.”
• Launched in 2010, the U.K.’s Sustainable Restaurant
Association helps restaurants to be more sustainable,
which can mean being more socially responsible
(community engagement, etc.) or more
green (e.g., saving water and energy),
or improving sourcing (supporting
“environmentally positive farming,” etc.).
Restaurants are rated according to a three-
star system.
• In the U.S., the Green Restaurant Association has been

around for more than two decades. It rates restaurants
according to criteria including water efficiency, energy
consumption, waste reduction and recycling, and use
of sustainable food. Garden Fresh, which operates
Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes restaurants, became
the largest chain to get certified last September.
Image credits: SRA;

Souplantation 25
In line with our trend Maximum Disclosure, the past few • In the U.K., the Carbon Trust provides a Carbon
years have seen some efforts to tally the carbon emissions Reduction Label for certified products—those that prove
associated with food products. It’s a complex endeavor, they are working to reduce their footprint—but will
however, and Tesco recently said it would halt an ambitious soon have to cope with a loss of government funding.
five-year-old drive to label all its store-brand products, Participating companies include Kingsmill breads and
partly because several months were required to determine a Walkers potato chips.
footprint for a single product. Other labeling efforts include:
• France’s Groupe Casino is labeling its store-brand
• Realizing several years ago that the products according to a Carbon Index it developed.
bulk of its carbon footprint comes
from beef consumption, Swedish • Some companies are making up their own label, like
fast food chain Max Burgers Finland’s Fazer, which uses a “Carbon Flower.”
started labeling menus with So far it’s only featured on packaging for
carbon footprint information (and what Fazer describes as “one
concurrently pushing alternatives, of Finland’s most popular
like chicken and salad options). breads.”
• South Korea’s environment ministry is sponsoring a carbon

labeling system that includes some food products, which
carry a logo showing the item’s footprint. Japan has a
similar system, and Thailand is testing one.
Image credits: Max Burgers;

Fazer 26
As much as a third of the food produced worldwide, • U.K. retailers such as
or 1.3 billion metric tons, is lost or wasted each Sainsbury’s and Marks &
year, according to the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Spencer are partnering with
Organization. Not only is this a waste of valuable land, Love Food Hate Waste, which
water and energy resources, but most of the discarded aims to cut waste by helping
food actually contributes to global warming because it people find recipes for
ends up in landfills, where it creates methane. Among the leftovers and providing tips
governments and others trying to change this: for preventing waste.
• Unilever’s Food Solutions unit recently

launched United Against Waste, a
We cannot limit sustainability to food
campaign to drive waste reduction in
production, we need to also look at
the food-service industry.
our food consumption. Waste less.”
• In the U.K., food packaging will no longer feature a “sell —JOSÉ GRAZIANO DA SILVA, director
general of the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture
by” date (only “use by” or “best before”), a bid to reduce Organization, Bloomberg, Jan. 23, 2012
the £12 billion worth of food thrown out each year.
• The Too Good to Waste campaign from the U.K.-based

Sustainable Restaurant Association is encouraging more
British restaurant diners to take home leftovers.
Image credits: unileverfoodsolutions.us;

lovefoodhatewaste.com 27
• Cook a huge meal and unable to eat it all? Super Marmite
is a French social network that enables members to sell
portions of unused meals to the local community.
• A few restaurants are instituting penalties for those who

don’t finish their food, such as Wafu in Sydney, which bars
offending patrons from returning, and a Saudi Arabian
restaurant that fines diners and donates some of the
money to help the hungry in Somalia.
• To increase awareness, the Food Network aired a

primetime special, The Big Waste, in January.
Image credits: Wafu;

Food Network 28
FIGURE 2A: FIGURE 2B:
Percentage of American and British adults who agree: Percentage of American and British adults who agree:
Millennials (21-34) Gen Xers (35-47) Boomers (48-67)

Male Female
I’m concerned about 66 I’m concerned about

the environmental
65
the environmental
impacts of food
waste
61 64% impacts of food waste 64
64
I would respect a grocery store 86
or restaurant that made an
91 effort to curb food waste
I would respect a 91
grocery store or
restaurant that 88 89%
made an effort to I’ve tried to cut down on the 75
curb food waste 87 amount of food waste I produce
for the sake of the environment 82
I’ve tried to cut down 84
on the amount of food
waste I produce for the
sake of the environment
76 79%
76
*For generational and gender breakdowns by country, see Appendix.
29
FIGURE 2C: FIGURE 2D:

Male Female
87 Restaurants have a 82
Restaurants have a responsibility to help
responsibility to help
curb food waste
86 85% curb food waste 88
83
Brands and manufacturers 81
have a responsibility to
90 help curb food waste 84
Brands and manufacturers
have a responsibility to 81 84%
help curb food waste Grocery stores have 79
80 a responsibility to
help curb food waste 83
84
Grocery stores have The government has 69
a responsibility to
help curb food waste
84 82% a responsibility to
help curb food waste 73
78
86
The government has
a responsibility to
help curb food waste
74 74%
61
30
“A global shift towards a vegan diet is vital to save the Vegan Until 6: New York Times food writer Mark Bittman
world from hunger, fuel poverty and the worst impacts has been arguing that a vegan diet is healthier for humans
of climate change,” concluded a 2010 U.N. report, as and the planet alike for several years. His suggestion: Cut
summarized by The Guardian. Until fairly recently, out animal-derived foods every day before 6 p.m.
vegans and vegetarians most commonly cited “animal
“Weekday Vegetarianism”: Graham Hill, founder of
rights” as their ethical motivation, but increasingly the
the environmental site TreeHugger.com, advocated this
environmental benefits are sharing equal if not top billing.
approach in a 2010 TED talk.
And the idea of eating less, very little or no meat for
environmental reasons is gaining ground. If you’re a progressive, if you’re
driving a Prius or you’re shopping
Meatless Monday: This campaign to reduce meat
green or you’re looking for organic,
consumption, which emphasizes both health and
you should probably be a semi-vegetarian.”
environmental benefits, has steadily gained adherents
—MARK BITTMAN, 2007 Entertainment
over the past few years. Some school districts and Gathering Conference
universities have instituted Meatless Mondays, and some
© The Monday Campaigns, Inc

restaurants have added vegetarian specials on Mondays, March to a
including the 14 owned by celebrity chef Mario Batali. different
drumstick.
Paul McCartney initiated a similar idea in the U.K.,
Go meatless
Meat Free Monday, and is promoting the new Meat Free Monday.
Monday Cookbook, to benefit the campaign.
One day a week, cut out meat.
Image credit: meatlessmonday.com 31

Several governments and businesses are trying to push
six-legged creatures—a staple in regions around the world—
onto Western menus as a sustainable protein source.
Nutrition-rich, insects require far fewer natural resources
to raise and produce far less waste than poultry and
livestock.
The European Commission has allocated £2.65 million to

look into the idea, and the Dutch ministry of agriculture
is funding a research program to raise insects for human
consumption on food waste. In the past two years, three
Dutch animal feed companies have started raising locusts
and mealworms, which are freeze-dried, packaged and
sold in various food outlets catering to restaurants.
Image credit: theefer 32

What if meat could be created in a lab, rendering moot
the environmental toll of raising livestock? Scientists have
actually managed to grow meat in a test tube (“in vitro
meat”), and several dozen labs are said to be working on
developing the concept, using stem cells. The Netherlands
and Brazil are among the governments funding research.
Last year a study by scientists at the University of Oxford

and the University of Amsterdam found that producing
lab-grown meat vs. the same amount of conventional
meat would emit far fewer greenhouse gases, require
7% to 45% less energy, and use a tiny fraction of the
land and water that livestock need. The study’s lead
scientist predicted that if enough resources go toward
the research, a lab-grown meat akin to mincemeat
could come to market within five years. (Steak-like meat
could take much longer.)
Image credit: Trondheim Havn 33

The production of palm oil, an ingredient in an array
of packaged foods (and frequently an alternative to
trans-fat oils), often results in deforestation and habitat
destruction. Awareness of the issue is bubbling up, with
manufacturers slowly switching over to sustainable palm
oil or pledging to do so. Watch for brands to tout their use
of GreenPalm certificates (akin to offsets) or conformance
with various certification standards. This year, boxes of Girl
Scout cookies started bearing the GreenPalm logo.
Image credit: rainforestheroes.com 34

The rooftop-gardening concept increasingly popular among
restaurants and hotels is evolving into large-scale farming
projects. Brooklyn Grange, for example, is a rooftop organic
farm that sells its produce in markets and businesses around
New York City; in the U.K., Food From the Sky, is a similar
initiative atop a supermarket in London that sells produce
in the market below. And BrightFarms is a New York-based
company focused on helping food merchants transform
their roofs.
Image credit: signejb 35

• The need for new, greener practices around food will become increasingly clear to brands and consumers
as demand spikes, natural resources get squeezed and climate change wreaks havoc on the supply chain. As
consumers better understand how their food choices impact the environment, they will slowly change their
habits—motivated both by price spikes and conscience—and expect food brands to similarly evolve.
• Brands will need to take concrete steps to lessen the impact of their production and distribution—whether by
reducing waste, ensuring products are sustainably sourced, supporting green farming practices or helping to drive
smarter consumption, among other measures. Brands that help to engineer a smarter food chain can set industry
standards as the issue grows more pressing.
The Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition,

run by the Italian food brand, developed
the “Double Food-Environment Pyramid”
to illustrate the impact of food choices.
Image credit: barillacfn.com 36

FIGURE 2E:
Consumer Awareness Around Food
• Millennials will drive this trend as they mature into more Production and the Environment
influential consumers, as they’re more cognizant than Percentage of American and British adults who
agree with each of the following:
other generations of the links between food and the
environment and more open to adjusting their behavior. Millennials (18-33) Gen Xers (34-46) Boomers (47-66)
While Millennial respondents to a November 2011 JWT The food I eat has
78
survey were significantly more likely than Gen Xers and an impact on the
environment
68 71%
Boomers to say they don’t know how to make more 66
sustainable food choices, they’re also more interested in
I would like to
doing so—and more aware of the basic link between what make smart
80
they eat and the environment (see chart at right).

food choices
that benefit the
73 74%
environment
70
I don’t know how 62

to make smart food
choices that benefit 48 50%
the environment
40
Food manufacturers
have a responsibility
77
to educate the
public about the 79 76%
environmental impact
of their dietary choices 72
* To learn more about Food as the New Eco-Issue, see our 10 Trends for 2012.
37
• BYO Containers
As the eco spotlight focuses on the environmental costs of
packaging, brands will increasingly switch to bottles, boxes and • Reusable Packaging
other solutions that reduce, reuse, recycle, remove and renew.
• Hydration Stations
The ultimate goal is “cradle-to-cradle” packaging—sustainable
from creation to disposal. • What It Means for Brands
Image credit: nist6ss 38

More grocery shoppers are bringing their own bags, and now Meanwhile, more types of products are getting
the idea of bringing your own containers (“precycling” by unpackaged. Olive oil dispensers are becoming
avoiding the need to recycle) is slowly catching on as well. popular, and some stores are offering other liquids
in bulk, like honey or syrup. Growler stations have
• In London, Unpackaged is a boutique grocery store that become a common sight, allowing customers to refill
sells bulk products—grains, nuts, herbs, teas, cheeses and
the jugs with draft beer.
so on—as well as goods in returnable/refillable jars or
bottles (milk, jam, etc.). Time Out lists it as one of the
best shops in the city.
• Simply Bulk Market in Longmont, Colo., is positioned as

both a greener and more economical way to shop: “Pay
for the Product, Not for the Package,” says the website.
“Buy as little as you want or as much as you need!”
• In the planning stages in Austin, Texas, is in.gredients,

which promises to replace “that middle section of the
usual grocery store” with local or locally sourced “real”
food that’s packaging-free or minimally packaged with
recyclable materials.
• In Chicago, Real Naked Food sells “mostly

unpackaged” goods.
Image credits: Simply Bulk Market;

Red Rock Brewing; in.gredients 39
One way to make packaging more sustainable is to find
ways for the consumer to reuse it or refill it:
• KFC introduced what it billed as the “first reusable

container in fast food” in 2010 to replace the foam
containers in which side dishes were packaged. While
most consumers will eventually toss them, they’re
made from a resin that KFC says is more widely recyclable
than polystyrene and uses less energy to produce.
• In the U.K., JUGIT sells a milk jug that customers refill

with bags of milk from supermarkets. The company claims
the bags use 75% less packaging than standard plastic
milk bottles. Similarly, Kenco coffee sells Eco Refills that
shoppers buy after initial purchase of the jarred product;
customers can then send in the refill packs to TerraCycle.
• Ecovention markets a pizza box that breaks down into four

plates and a smaller leftovers box, avoiding use of paper
plates and foil for uneaten slices. Adoptees include Pizza
Hut Costa Rica.
Image credits: KFC;

Kenco 40
No more awkward tilting to fill a bottle at a drinking
fountain: As the movement to cut the use of plastic and ban
the sale of bottled water grows, we’ll see a proliferation of
hydration stations—already popping up on college campuses
and in some public spaces—designed to allow people to easily
fill reusable bottles.
Image credits: Hydrate U;

britahydrationstation.com 41
Millennials (21-34) Gen Xers (35-47) Boomers (48-67) Male Female

Food manufacturers
need to cut down 84
Food manufacturers 87 on the amount of
need to cut down 89
on the amount of 85 86% packaging they use
packaging they use
86 79
Most foods use too
much packaging
86
82
Most foods use too
much packaging
81 82% I try to limit
the amount of
67
82 food packaging I
waste each day
77
I try to limit 74 I’m buying less bottled

water because of the
57
the amount of
food packaging I
waste each day
68 71% environmental impact
of the plastic bottles
66
72
I make my food
purchasing decisions
39
70 based on how much
I’m buying less bottled packaging is used
35
environmental impact 61 63%
57
I make my food 48
based on how much 42 40%
packaging is used
30
42
• With green initiatives now a necessity rather than a competitive advantage, it’s becoming imperative for
brands to retool their packaging, and to do so according to an expanding range of criteria (packaging should be
manufactured using clean technologies, designed to optimize materials and energy, use as much renewable or
recyclable material as possible, and so on). Simply swaddling goods in fewer layers or reducing the weight of
bottles and calling it a day won’t be enough.
• We’ll see more tech innovations that help companies meet these criteria (e.g., using bio-based materials for
packaging), as well as simple solutions that rethink the status quo, such as refillables. Consumers—many of whom
now bring their own bags on shopping trips—will increasingly notice, and appreciate, these changes.
• Pressures to improve packaging are coming not only from consumers but from the CFO’s office: Greener packaging
frequently reduces costs, in line with today’s growing interest in Shared Value (one of our 10 Trends for 2012).
*To learn more about The Devil Wears Packaging, see our 10 Trends for 2010.
43
• Fooducate • Inhaling
Awareness of good nutritional habits has been steadily rising, • Nutrition Scores • Smart Lunchrooms
even as obesity becomes a more pressing issue—in turn driving • Fat Taxes • Organic Fast Food
governments and health advocates to further push both consumers • Healthy and Fresh • What’s New in
and brands to adopt healthier ways. Vending Machines Functional Foods
• Gluten-Free • What It Means
for Brands
• Hold the Salt
Image credit: epSos.de 44

One consequence of more consumers Reading the Fine
Print (one of our 10 Trends for 2010) is that they’re
seeking out tools that save them time and brainpower
by simplifying and summarizing the information they’re
interested in. Apps fit the bill perfectly. For those focused
on nutritional information, Fooducate allows users to scan
the barcode of a supermarket item to quickly see product
highlights, negative and positive, as determined by the
company’s team of dietitians and “concerned parents.”
What’s revealed is “stuff manufacturers don’t want you to

notice,” says Fooducate, like excessive sugar or confusing
serving sizes. Shoppers can also compare products, select
alternatives and learn about food and nutrition generally.
The app, which launched in January 2011 for the iPhone
(and in June for Android), passed 10 million product
scans by November. The most scanned categories: yogurt,
cereal and snack bars.
Image credit: Fooducate 45

Since more consumers are interested in Reading the Fine • Whole Foods developed
Print, some U.S. supermarkets are giving them a shortcut, what it calls ANDI (aggregate
adopting nutrition-scoring systems: Ratings are displayed nutrient density index), which
on shelves, helping shoppers make healthier choices at a rates unprocessed foods on
glance. a scale up to 1,000 (a score
achieved by kale). The intent
• NuVal rates products from 1 to 100, with a higher
is to help shoppers compare options within categories,
score indicating a healthier item. A range of regional
e.g., choosing which variety of bean to buy.
supermarkets have adopted the system.
• Guiding Stars is less nuanced, • Safeway’s SimpleNutrition program evaluates products

and allots up to two “benefit messages” per tag, such as
granting from zero to three stars
“Good Source of Fiber,” “Sodium Smart,” “Lean Protein”
based on a food’s nutrient density
and “Low Cholesterol.”
per 100 calories. It’s used by a few
supermarket chains, as well as
school and hospital cafeterias.
Image credits: Guiding Stars;

Whole Foods 46
The fat tax is the new sin tax: In a bid to put the brakes on
obesity, governments will try to push consumers away from
unhealthy foods with cost disincentives. In 2011, Hungary
introduced an added tax for foods with high fat, salt and
sugar content, along with a higher tariff on soda (and
alcohol), while Denmark added a tax for high-saturated-
fat foods. Similar legislation was proposed in Australia and
Britain. And at year-end, France approved a tax on sugary
soft drinks. Look for more national and local governments
to follow.
Image credit: pointnshoot 47

In recent years vending machines have been moving beyond In France, one baker is touting his automated baguette
food into new categories, dispensing everything from gold bars dispenser—which is loaded with partially precooked loaves
to prescription drugs. But we’re also seeing new thinking within that get fully baked when the machine is activated—as a
food itself as machines get refocused for health-conscious way to get fresh bread when bakeries are closed. And the
consumers and retooled as devices for selling fresh rather than Smart Butcher, out of Alabama, vends fresh cuts of meat
packaged foods—everything from milk to fish and meat. and sausages.
Machines that sell snacks like carrots and apples, hummus,

meal replacement bars and yogurt are popping up in response
to consumer interest in nutritious eating, employer interest
in healthier workers and legislation aimed at limiting junk
food in schools. Ecowell’s kiosks address both health and
environmental concerns: Using their own reusable containers,
customers order up personalized beverages that combine
fruit juice flavors, sweeteners and vitamin supplements with
carbonated or flat water.
Fresh-milk machines that allow users to refill their own

bottles can be found in several Spanish cities. Also in
Spain: a machine filled with portions of fresh fish and one
that vends loaves of bread, restocked daily by a baker.
Image credit: drinkecowell.com 48

One of our Things to Watch in 2009, The phenomenon is widespread: Gluten-free offerings can
gluten-free foods have mushroomed be found in restaurants, supermarkets and bakeries from
from a specialized segment of the Argentina and Australia to Germany and Italy (where the
food industry into the mainstream— government subsidizes celiacs’ gluten-free purchases). Even
to the tune of $2.7 billion in global McDonald’s has hopped on the bandwagon, offering gluten-
sales in 2011, according to a free buns in several European
Euromonitor International estimate, countries, and Subway is testing a
with the market set to reach $3.4 billion by 2015 (some gluten-free roll and brownie.
other estimates put the total much higher).
While celiac disease, the autoimmune disorder triggered

by gluten, affects only about 1% of the population, a range
of consumers are embracing these foods: Proponents say
a gluten-free diet can stimulate weight loss and help with
chronic intestinal issues as well as diseases including autism
and schizophrenia. And while these benefits are unproven,
new gluten-free products continue to land on shelves, from
baking mixes by Betty Crocker and Rice Krispies by Kellogg’s
to gluten-free flour developed by chefs Lena Kwak and
Thomas Keller of the restaurant The French Laundry.
Image credits: asgw; simply...gluten-free;

Bouchon Bakery 49
Governments around the globe are passing on salt in The challenge remains to sell consumers what’s best for
a bid to reduce hypertension, stroke and other health them but perhaps not what’s tastiest. Last year Campbell’s
problems. National and regional authorities are pushing decided to add salt to more than two dozen soups,
sodium-reduction initiatives, including Canada, Australia, following poor sales of its low-sodium offerings.
Ireland, France, Finland and Japan. Among the measures
being taken:
• Restaurant tables in Argentina’s Buenos Aires province no

longer feature salt shakers, thanks to a 2011 agreement
with the health department, which also persuaded the
breadmaker federation to cut salt by 40%.
• New York City’s health department is coordinating the

National Salt Reduction Initiative, a coalition of regional
health authorities and organizations that’s working to
push food manufacturers and restaurants to cut salt.
Modeled on a successful U.K. program, its goal is to lower
Americans’ salt intake by 20% over five years.
In response to various campaigns, industry-leading

companies including Heinz, McCain Foods, Unilever, Kraft
and Mars have made voluntary commitments to cut salt.
Image credit: L. Marie 50

From a Harvard professor of biomedical engineering comes
Breathable Foods, a company that’s rolling out inhalable
caffeine, vitamins and chocolate. AeroShot Pure Energy is an
inhaler containing a hit of caffeine mixed with B vitamins;
Le Whif provides a chocolate experience sans calories. The
company is working on more products that provide flavorful or
nutritional benefits without calories or the need for pills.
Image credit: labstoreparis.com 51

As obesity rates continue to climb worldwide, we’ll see
experimentation in school and workplace cafeterias, with
offerings rearranged to encourage smarter choices—e.g.,
more nutritious selections at the front of the line, and fruit in
attractive bowls. Red tongs for higher-calorie selections and
other sly cues will prompt people to reconsider their choices.
Image credits: Dr Stephen Dan;

Javi Vte Rejas 52
Organic (or close to it) is an increasingly popular hook in
quick-service restaurants. Chipotle has staked its claim on
“Food With Integrity” and uses “organic and local produce
when practical,” as well as meat free from antibiotics
or added hormones. Smaller chains such as Naked Pizza
(which claims “no freaky chemicals”), Pizza Fusion,
Elevation Burger and EVOS are popping up around the U.S.
Watch for more mainstream QSRs to adopt some of their

practices. Moe’s Southwest Grill, for instance, which
operates 400-plus outlets, started using more “natural”
meats about a year ago, such as grain-fed pork that’s
hormone- and steroid-free.
Image credit: Moe’s 53

For the past decade or so, the idea that food can offer Artery-Cleaning Foods: The next hot
specific benefits—beyond simply providing good nutrition— functional foods may be those that claim
has permeated mainstream thinking. We’ve seen all to clean out arteries, or more technically,
manner of foods carrying health claims, and the rise reduce oxidized LDL cholesterol. Stratum
(and sometimes fall) of super-foods, from acai berries Nutrition is marketing a powdered fiber
to pomegranate. These are a few of the things today’s product to food and beverage brands that
consumers are or will be looking to for functional benefits. it claims can promote healthy arteries. Approved by the EU
Commission and some other administrations as safe, the
Food, Ph.D.: We’ll see many more science-inspired
product is making its way across the globe.
food products engineered to target conditions and
beauty needs. Nestlé is investing more than $500 Mushrooms: What’s new about edible fungi? With more
million to develop health and wellness products, varieties now populating supermarket shelves in the West,
and created the Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences in 2011 we’ll see a growing awareness that this low-calorie but highly
“to pioneer a new industry between food and pharma.” flavorful food packs a nutritional punch. Euromonitor notes
Unilever is researching technology that can imbue ingestibles that the benefits of mushrooms—which can lower cholesterol,
with anti-aging and other beauty benefits. In 2011 its Dove boost the immune system and (some say)
brand started marketing Strength Within, an anti-wrinkle even fight cancer—“remain woefully
supplement, in the U.K. and Ireland. underappreciated”; with consumers
looking to add more functional foods to
their diet, they won’t remain overlooked
for long.
Image credits: Dovespa.co.uk; wwarby;

trekkyandy 54
Matcha: The powdered green tea—which originated in
Japan and is a centerpiece of the Japanese tea ceremony—
is becoming a hot flavor internationally, with an artisanal
quality reflected in its price tag. It’s a functional ingredient,
high in both antioxidants and caffeine, that’s increasingly
popping up in beverages (from lattes to cocktails) and
desserts (ice cream, pastries and more).
Slow Beverages: Slow-down beverages are being marketed

as anti-energy drinks: Brands including Slow Cow, Drank,
Bula and Koma Unwind are fortified with ingredients such
as chamomile, melatonin and valerian root that purportedly
promote calming and relaxation. Some brands take on the
energy-drink category directly by claiming to also boost mental
focus and concentration. The beverage research group Zenith
International forecasts that U.S. volume sales will top 300
million liters by 2014.
Image credits: Teavana;

bulabeverage.com; komaunwind.com 55
Greek Yogurt: This richer, more dense style of yogurt has
caught fire in the U.S., thanks in part to “a perception that
the food is healthier than regular yogurt and other snacks,”
The New York Times reports. National retail sales more than
doubled for the year ending October 2011, and last March
UBS noted that “Greek yogurt brands such as Chobani and
Fage have captured market share more quickly than almost
any segment in a major food category ever.” This April,
the TCBY frozen yogurt chain will introduce Greek Fro-Yo,
extending the concept into a new category.
Spices: Interest in the functional qualities of foods is

expanding to include a greater focus on the benefits
of spices and seasonings. For instance, ground cloves,
cinnamon and oregano are notably rich in antioxidants.
McCormick & Co. is spotlighting the health benefits of
selected herbs and spices, with commercials that drive
viewers to a “Spices for Health” section on the brand’s
website, where they can find recipes and suggestions for
how to add “super spices” to their diet (e.g., “Perk up
your morning coffee with Ground Cinnamon”).
Image credits: TCBY;

McCormick & Co. 56
Juicing Up Coconut: Coconut water, one of our Things
to Watch in 2010, has been steadily gaining in popularity.
Leading brand Vita Coco, for example, has zoomed from
reported sales of $20 million in 2009 to $40 million in 2010
to a forecast of $100 million in 2011. The recent spike is
partly due to coconut water getting adopted as a sports
drink because of its electrolyte content.
Beverage brands are continuing to introduce coconut

juice products. PepsiCo’s SoBe, for example, said it was
putting a “new twist on a hot trend” when it announced
a Lifewater with Coconut Water line of three flavors in
January.
Coconut foods are also seeing a boom, thanks in part to

the Paleo diet, which promotes cooking with coconut oil
and eating other coconut products. Coconut is also being
used as a dairy alternative in ice cream.
Image credits: akeg;

SoBe 57
Nutricosmetics: A burgeoning class of foods seeks to • BORBA Skin Balance Water, billed as “drinkable
improve external appearances rather than internal skin care,” offers four varieties that address
functioning. Medical experts are somewhat skeptical different issues—Age Defying, Firming, Clarifying
about the functionality claims, but the proof will be in the and Replenishing—and include ingredients
pudding—or Balance Bar, as the case may be. like pomegranate, acai berry and lychee.
They’re available at some drugstores, high-end
• Balance Bar recently introduced the
department stores and gyms. BORBA sells Gummi
Nimble bar, touting it as “the first
Bears with similar beauty claims.
bar for women that conveniently
combines beauty and nutrition.” • Deo perfume candy, from Beneo, is said to work much
The front of the package lists like garlic but with rose oil instead: Compounds that are
ingredients including lutein and not digested are emitted through skin pores. It’s sold in
beta-carotene as “for your skin.” several Eastern European markets.
• Frutels markets foil-wrapped chocolates billed as “acne

care in a candy” that help purchasers achieve “clear skin
from the inside out.” Sold in drugstores and food shops,
the sweets contain vitamins and minerals that strengthen
the body against the stress and hormonal changes that
can cause acne, or so the claim goes.
• Beauty Booster from IO Beauty is a thick liquid, a few

drops of which purportedly produce more luminous skin.
Image credits: Balance Bar;

BORBA 58
• Consumers will continue to tailor their diets to add foods that naturally provide internal and even external
benefits and to remove anything perceived as problematic, from gluten and various allergens to salt and
processed foods (a recent Nielsen Global Survey found that 35% of respondents who were changing their diet to
lose weight said they are eating fewer processed foods, up from 29% in 2008).
• This is true for most of the developed world, but many emerging markets are on a different curve, with health
and wellness ideas yet to hit consumers who have more money and more available global goods to spend it on.
(Fast-growing Mexico, for instance, is now second worldwide in obesity.) Conversely, developed-world consumers
hit by the downturn are struggling to balance their wellness and budget concerns.
• The downturn may also be helping to spur Live a Little, a countertrend to health and wellness that’s detailed
in this report: Faced with constant reminders about what to do and what not to do, and fatigued from austerity
measures, consumers will look for ways to let loose once in a while: indulging in sinful things, splurging on treats
and so on. As governments push better eating through fat taxes, labeling regulations and other initiatives, and as
social norms evolve toward “better for you” behaviors, we’ll see more self-control/guilt fatigue and a heightened
rebellious appeal to “bad” eating.
59
• Labeling Legalities
Competitive pressures and legal requirements are forcing
• Tell-All Vending Machines
manufacturers and retailers to take transparency to the max,
disclosing more about nutritional data, green credentials, sourcing, • Going Behind the Scenes
social responsibility issues (Fair Trade, etc.) and the people and
• Visual Fluency
processes behind the brand.
• What It Means for Brands
Image credit: Family O’Abé 60

Government pressure on brands to disclose more • Watch for more heated efforts to push labeling of genetically
information—and consumer pressure on governments to modified foods in the U.S., a cause with high-profile
mandate more disclosure—is building. For instance: advocates including ex-Stonyfield CEO Gary Hirshberg
and Food, Inc. director Robert Kenner. (The EU mandates
• The European Union established new food labeling
labeling, as do Japan, Australia and Brazil, among others.)
requirements last year that will become mandatory in
Some states are considering their own legislation.
2016. Packaging will need to use a minimum font size to
show nutritional data (energy, sugar, salt, carbohydrate,
fat and saturated fat content), allergens must be
highlighted on ingredients lists and type of vegetable
oil must be specified. Highly caffeinated drinks must
state the actual caffeine content.
• As part of President Obama’s health care reform law in

2010, U.S. restaurant chains will need to clearly disclose
calorie counts (and make additional nutritional data
available upon request), while vending machine operators
will need to display calorie information for certain items,
with the new rules going into effect this year. The U.K.’s
Department of Health is pushing restaurants to reveal
calorie counts, and several chains started doing so last
year, including KFC, McDonald’s and Pret a Manger.
Image credit: CSPinet.org 61

Touch screens that link with vending machines display
nutritional data so that customers can make more
informed decisions. They also allow operators to meet an
upcoming U.S. Food and Drug Administration requirement
(covering most vending machines) to show calorie counts
for the products within.
VendScreen, a startup, is one of the companies marketing

these screens. Its Android-powered device features an
avatar (“Jen”) who can sort through products based on the
customer’s dietary needs or simply provide nutrition info.
The device enables a machine to accept “mobile wallet” as
well as credit card payments. The company reports strong
demand, though the screens haven’t been rolled out yet.
The touch screens can also offer promotions or accept

coupons, opening the door to new opportunities for brands
to connect with customers at point of purchase.
Image credit: VendScreen 62

There’s a new, expanded answer to the question, Where does
my food come from? The rising preference for local foods and
supporting small farmers and for more natural foods, as well
as concerns about food safety, has driven a surge in disclosure
about the farm-to-fork journey, the people behind that
journey and how the process works. Among big brands, the
aim is to showcase human stories and simple processes (read:
not overly industrialized) behind the mass production.
• A new McDonald’s campaign profiles three of its smaller

suppliers—potato and lettuce farmers and a cattle
rancher—with videos about the men and their work at
mcdonalds.com/suppliers.
• Domino’s “Behind the Pizza” campaign includes a

commercial in which a focus group is surprised with a
visit to the farm where the chain sources its tomatoes.
Behindthepizza.com features mini games where players
can “learn about Domino’s farm-grown ingredients.”
Image credits: McDonald’s;

Domino’s 63
• To show that its chickens are truly free-range, the
website for Australia’s ecoeggs features a “ChookCam,”
a live remote camera that viewers can control to see the
animals in real time (the camera is off at night).
• Lay’s rolled out a kiosk in Buenos Aires supermarkets

that displays a “hyper-realistic” video of the chip-making
process to show that the chips are made from real
potatoes, vegetable oil and salt—assuring customers
that the “natural” claim is authentic.
Image credits: ecoeggs.com.au;

Lay’s 64

Male Female
I like when 81 I like when commercials
commercials show show me the “behind the 69
me the “behind the
scenes” story about
73 73% scenes” story about the
food I consume 74
the food I consume
65
I wish I knew more about
how the food I eat is 68
produced (how it is grown
I wish I knew more 80 or who is growing it) 71
about how the food I
eat is produced (how 71 71% Brands do not disclose
it is grown or who is enough information about 68
growing it) 63 the environmental impact of
their food products, how their 71
Brands do not disclose food is made or where the
enough information 81 ingredients come from
about the environmental
impact of their food 66 70%
products, how their food
is made or where the 64
ingredients come from
* For generational and gender breakdowns by country, see Appendix.
65
As the ongoing shift from words to images accelerates, In the U.K., Waitrose’s line of LOVE life “you count”
we’re seeing increasingly innovative ways to spotlight and products, designed for calorie counters, features packaging
illuminate complex topics (one of our 10 Trends for 2010). that boldly states how many calories the item contains.
Visual Fluency can help brands make the information Shoppers can see immediately what will work best for
they’re disclosing easier to grasp at a glance. It’s sorely them as they plan out meals.
needed: Lack of Visual Fluency is
one reason nutritional labels are
understood only “in part” by a
majority of consumers (52% vs. 41%
who understand them “mostly”),
according to a recent Nielsen
global survey.
Image credit: Waitrose 66

• This trend represents a coming together of the green movement, the health and wellness movement, government anti-
obesity efforts, the local movement, fears about food safety and, of course, the transparency trend.
• While pressure to disclose is coming in part from consumers, many may not actually want all that much information or
alter their behavior once exposed to it. When it comes to calorie data, for example, half of respondents to a recent
global Nielsen survey felt that fast food menus should always include calories, and some studies have shown that diners
don’t order much differently when menus are labeled. But since calorie labeling frequently reveals a dearth of smart
options, restaurants are nonetheless being embarrassed into reducing serving sizes, adding lighter fare, making simple
substitutions that cut calories and so on.
• As more data is disclosed, however, people who once thought little about these details are starting to take note;
the ranks of the conscious consumer are growing. The challenge is for brands to make this information clearly
understandable, both in terms of visual fluency and basic consumer education.
• In some cases, it’s likely that the simple fact of disclosure will matter more to consumers than the specific information
revealed. But ultimately, brands that don’t become healthier and more sustainable will lose ground, especially if
they’re not competitive on price.
*To learn more about Maximum Disclosure, see our 10 Trends for 2010.
67
Faced with constant reminders about what to do (exercise more,
eat better) and what not to do (overspend, overeat), and fatigued • The Lipstick Index Effect
from several years of austerity, consumers will look for ways to live
• A Little Serving of Sin
a little without giving up a lot. People have been exercising more
self-control, and increasingly they’re looking to let loose once in • What It Means for Brands
a while: indulging in sinful things, splurging on treats and at least
momentarily escaping from today’s many worries.
Image credit: J. Paxon Reyes 68

Estée Lauder chairman emeritus Leonard Lauder coined
the term “Lipstick Index” after observing that lipstick
sales rose during the 2001 downturn as women treated
themselves in affordable ways. While lipstick sales didn’t
see an uptick this past recession, by and large the effect
applies to arguably indulgent edibles like premium beer or
high-end chocolate.
After all, “living a little” is still cheaper than living large.

As the FT put it, “For more everyday items, people are
compensating for bigger treats foregone.” For example,
some consumers are dining out less frequently but buying
premium ingredients to cook at home.
Image credit: Duvel 69

More people will decide there is a time for everything—
both restraint and rewards—and that they’d rather have
a bit of something good than a lot of mediocrity. For
instance, a Mintel report on ice cream sales in the U.S.
finds that “full-fat, indulgent brands have performed well
in the last year.” Consumers don’t want to feel life is
passing them by as they behave more responsibly.
Spanish deli brand Campofrío tapped into this idea with

a commercial showing an old toad explaining that he was
a human in his past life. But he was not gung ho on being
one: “You need to learn English… control your calories,
triglycerides…” But his younger friend breaks into song,
imagining what he’d do “If I were a human”—“buy a
Chihuahua, a waterbed and a mega ham platter.” The
youngster is promptly hit by a truck and reincarnated as a
handsome guy eating some ham. The voiceover: “You never
know what you’ll become in the next life. So take good
advantage of this one.”
Image credit: Campofrío 70

Millennials (21-34) Gen Xers (35-47) Boomers (48-67) Male Female
An indulgent snack/ An indulgent snack/meal every 87

96 once in a while gives me a nice
meal every once in a
break from the day-to-day grind
90%
while gives me a nice
92
87
break from the day-
to-day grind 88 Life is too short not to have 88
an indulgent snack/meal
every once in a while 88
Life is too short not 88
to have an indulgent
snack/meal every 89 89% Even if money is tight,
I deserve to splurge on a nice
84
once in a while meal every once in a while
89 82
There is so much pressure to

87 have perfect nutrition habits that
73
Even if money is tight,
once in a while I need to indulge
I deserve to splurge
on a nice meal every
83 84% myself and take a break 78
once in a while
82 I wish that I wasn’t reminded
of how I should keep a healthy 61
diet to improve my lifestyle
There is so much every time I turn around 60
pressure to have
79
perfect nutrition habits
that once in a while I
77 76%
need to indulge myself
and take a break
72
I wish that I wasn’t 64

reminded of how I
should keep a healthy
diet to improve
66 62%
my lifestyle every 56
time I turn around
71
• While people generally understand the need to adopt healthier habits, the reverse-psychology effect of
regulations and new cultural norms adds some rebellious appeal to “bad” behaviors. Consumers will tire of the
guilt associated with anything that seems out of step.
• Marketers can discourage overthinking and encourage more spontaneous enjoyment of life’s pleasures. Brands can
help to remove anxiety around indulgent choices and showcase how their indulgences are permissible—enabling
people to live a little without feeling like they’ve fallen off the wagon altogether.
• Brands can also emphasize ways to take a break from daily pressures and to squeeze more pleasure out of life,
whether via a cup of top-notch coffee or a hot fudge sundae.
*To learn more about Live a Little, see our 10 Trends for 2012.
72
As the new normal becomes a prolonged normal in the hampered
developed world, more brands will open up entry points for • Smaller SKUs
extremely cost-sensitive consumers. Marketers will find new • What It Means for Brands
opportunities in creating stripped-down offerings, smaller sizes and
otherwise more accessible products and services.
Image credit: Pete.Mac 73

Food and beverage brands are swinging in the opposite Value to that [struggling]
direction from the mega-sizes and bulk offerings they have consumer is a price point. It
targeted at budget-savvy consumers. Instead, they’re doesn’t matter what the cost
adopting the emerging-world practice of selling smaller per ounce is. It matters, ‘Can I afford
SKUs to consumers who can afford only the minimal to buy even a small portion of that this
amount per shopping trip. week?’ And (that means) having small
sizes, convenient sizes, convenient
A November 2011 survey by JWT found that a majority
channels, convenience stores,
of respondents in the bottom third of household income
pharmacies, dollar stores for quick
said they would rather spend less and buy small sizes than
small trips that are close to home, as
buy bigger sizes that are a better value (57% in the U.S.
opposed to going out for the big loads
and 56% in the U.K.). So did a majority of middle-income
at the supercenters. So there is very
respondents in the U.S. (53%).
different behavior that is occurring.”
• Kraft Foods Inc. is selling 50-cent gum packs with five —MEG NOLLEN, SVP of investor relations
and global program management officer,
sticks of Trident and Stride. H.J. Heinz Co., August analyst call
• Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo both introduced alternatives to

the traditional 2-liter bottle in the U.S. with reduced sizes
that sell for 99 cents or less.
74
• In late 2011, H.J. Heinz Co. announced it would launch
several reduced-size products at “compelling price
points.” New, smaller Heinz products that carry a
suggested retail price of 99 cents include a 10-ounce
ketchup pouch, a 9-ounce yellow mustard, and mini
Worcestershire and Heinz 57 sauces. In Europe, products
are priced around one euro.
• The Supervalu retail chain now sells individual portions of

meat for $1. And its Save-A-Lot chain’s private-label Today
brand sells ultra-accessible products like 79-cent instant
mashed potatoes in a 4-ounce pack.
Image credit: Heinz 75

• Brands must adjust to a new consumer reality in which spending is moving out of the middle market and shifting
to the high and low ends. Customers have become accustomed to holding out for discounts and promotions,
but such tactics aren’t a sustainable solution for most brands. Instead, opportunity lies in creating lower-cost
products and services, whether that means smaller SKUs, “good enough” products and services that strip out
features/amenities, off-peak or otherwise restricted offerings and so on.
• At the same time, consumers have developed the expectation that cheap can also be chic (or tasty, enjoyable,
etc.), and they’ll look for budget options that don’t feel terribly down-market. For example, discount grocery
chain Aldi offers a limited selection, but, as The Economist notes, it’s “not a grotty place to shop,” unlike some
rival retailers. And McDonald’s launched a $1 billion makeover of its U.S. stores in 2011 that will see the outlets
looking less like typical fast food chains and more upscale, taking cues from Starbucks.
*To learn more about Navigating the New Normal, see our 10 Trends for 2012.
76
From phones to fridges, devices are getting “smart,” connecting • Smarter • Smarter Shopping
Cookbooks
the real world to the digital world and influencing how we find, eat • Smarter
• Smarter Recipes Packaging
and make food. More broadly, each step of the way—from shopping
• Smarter Kitchens • What It Means
to finding recipes and cooking to dining out—is getting “smarter” for Brands
• Smarter Ordering
for those armed with the latest digital tools.
Image credit: Roberto Verzo 77

Thanks to tablets, which travel easily from supermarket interactive recipes and services such as a menu planner
to kitchen to table while providing an ample display, the and shopping list generator. For an added fee, users get
cookbook is evolving into a multimedia tool that offers access to more content, including an ingredient guide and
video instruction, plenty of illustrations and an easy way to a wine guide. QOOQ expands beyond the French market
look up unfamiliar terms. with a U.S. launch in September.
CulinApp offers tablet apps that include video

demonstrating each step, with users able to choose how
they want to view a recipe (with step-by-step video, in a
flow chart format, etc.). It’s well-suited for professionals
accustomed to the camera, with CulinApp serving as a
platform for Dorie Greenspan (“Baking with Dorie”) and
Joanne Weir (“Joanne Weir’s Cooking Confidence”). Other
celebrity chefs also offer video apps, like Jamie Oliver’s
“20 Minute Meals” and “James Martin’s Food – Simplicity.”
The Culinary Institute of America adapted its longtime
textbook into an app, The Professional Chef, that allows
users to compare notes, among other things.
From France comes a kitchen-focused tablet, QOOQ

(pronounced “cook”): Along with regular tablet
functionality, the “kitchen-proof” gadget comes with
Image credit: Inkling Systems 78

Recipe sites were among the coolest offerings of the early • Gojee rethinks search by asking users what ingredients they
Internet, providing easy access to a vast range of recipes, have or want to cook with and which they prefer to avoid.
searchable by cuisine and ingredients. These sites remain a Users then see photos of dishes that they can quickly click
go-to for home cooks, but we’re seeing new thinking about through (or swipe through on a tablet); each links to an
how the Web can best help cooks find the recipe they’re external blog. A partnership with New York grocery chain
looking for (or didn’t know they wanted) and track what D’Agostino lets loyalty card users get customized recipes
they make. None of the following actually feature their based on what they’ve bought. About 300,000 people have
own recipes: signed up since Gojee launched last July.
• For cooks whose back issues of food magazines are piled

atop stacks of cookbooks, Eat Your Books creates a digital
catalog of those analog recipes, making them easy to find.
The site has indexed more than a half-million recipes
from popular cookbooks, as well as magazines and a few
blogs. It outlines the recipe being searched and directs
users where to find it, online or on paper. The site charges
$2.50 a month or $25 a year.
Image credit: Gojee 79

• Foodily brings in the social graph:
Users follow friends as well as
influentials, receiving a Twitter-like
feed of recipes. Users in turn can
share recipes of food they “crave,”
“made” or “recommend.” Foodily also has an app
for Facebook Timeline, so user updates appear in the
Facebook ticker.
• Evernote’s new Food app, an extension of the popular

organizational app, isn’t solely about recipes, giving users
a way to store photos, captions, notes and recipes related
to any food experience. But it’s particularly handy for
archiving recipes: Cooks can photograph each step and add
captions and detailed notes, helping them remember and
share their process (Facebook and Twitter sharing are built
into the app).
Image credits: Foodily;

Evernote 80
As the “Internet of Things” concept becomes a reality, • Samsung’s smart fridge communicates with Samsung
“smart” appliances offer the promise of integrating smartphones (enabling users to track groceries, for
with owners’ lives and making food preparation easier. instance), and its touch screen offers access to apps,
They are connected via Wi-Fi and can communicate with letting owners check the weather, their calendar or
smartphones. It’s early days, however, with some concepts recipes on Epicurious, among other things. Samsung
not on the market yet and manufacturers still figuring out has said it’s planning a robust app marketplace focused
which bells and whistles consumers want. around its appliances.
A few examples:
• A refrigerator that LG Electronics showed at CES keeps
inventory of what’s inside if users scan grocery receipts
with their phone, letting owners track when they bought
items and when they expire. Via a touch screen, the
fridge can suggest recipes based on the items scanned;
its Health Manager can tailor these according to a user’s
weight, body mass index and so on. Part of LG’s ThinQ
line, it can connect to a smart oven (setting it according
to the recipe selected) and to LG’s Smart TV. As the
Miami New Times put it, “The only thing it doesn’t have
is mechanical arms to take food out of the fridge and
prepare it.” The fridge is due on the market by late 2012.
Image credit: Samsung 81

• Haier says its Smart Life appliances, which users can
control remotely, will help people “do more, worry
less, and save time.” These include a refrigerator and
wine chiller.
• The new TopBrewer from Danish company Scanomat is a

high-end coffeemaker that looks like a faucet attached to
the countertop. Users can control its various functions with
an iPhone or iPad, and see when their beverage is ready.
• Restaurant kitchens are getting smarter too. QSR

Automations’ ConnectSmart Kitchen, for instance, helps
to streamline preparation, directing tasks to workstations
so that orders come out of the kitchen faster.
Image credits: Haier;

Scanomat 82
Distinguishing themselves from guides that offer ratings • Newcomer Forkly focuses on meal reviews as well as
and a range of information about nearby restaurants, such pictures, using this information to build a taste graph for
as Yelp, Urbanspoon and Zagat, some apps help diners hone each user and offer personalized recommendations. Users
in on the best dishes around them. These crowdsourced are encouraged to “earn influence points” and “become a
platforms give diners a preview of what to expect, top influencer for places and items.”
leverage the smartphone user’s urge to snap food shots and
surface personalized recommendations.
• Two-year-old Foodspotting—which is nearing 2 million

downloads—is a website and app that provides users with
a photo-driven stream of tasty meals in locales around
the world. People can search for meals by location and
bookmark foods they want to try. Contributors photograph
meals they like, tag the location and share (to keep things
positive, users can’t post dishes they dislike). A recent
update adds personalization features and emphasizes user
reputation and social features.
Image credit: Foodspotting 83

As e-commerce and brick-and-mortar retailing integrate
and overlap, shopping will entail simply clicking—buying
products from a smartphone or other device—and then
having the order immediately delivered or collecting it
at a physical location. Multichannel buying is fast and
streamlined, with less time in lines and shorter waits than
online-shopping delivery enables.
Some supermarkets are setting up out-of-home displays

where shoppers scan QR codes for desired items, then either
get them delivered or pick them up in-store. Home Plus, the
South Korean arm of Tesco, was out in front with this idea
last year when it placed sheets of photorealistic billboard
paper featuring pictures of goods, along with QR codes, in
a subway station. Commuters can browse and pay for items
with their phones while waiting for the train, and the goods
are waiting when the purchaser gets home.
Image credit: Recklessnutter 84

With more people using smartphones, QR codes and etc.). Marmite uses Blippar, a technology that employs
other experiments in connecting the physical product image recognition to trigger virtual content on a mobile
with the digital world are proliferating. The likelihood screen, to relay recipes.
that consumers will actually scan these codes is slowly
rising—in November, a Forrester study found that 5% of
• Codes can also lead to exclusive content. A promotion
last August from Taco Bell, a sponsor of MTV’s Video Music
American adults with a mobile phone scan any kind of 2D
Awards, involved QR codes on cups and boxes that led to
barcode, up from 1% in 2010. comScore reported a similar
MTV footage.
percentage for June 2011 among mobile users in France,
Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K. For now, the codes link • Heinz used QR codes on ketchup bottles in participating
brands with early adopters. U.S. restaurants last November for a social promotion that
enabled people to send thank you messages to military
• The European Union is looking into ways to use QR
service members or veterans. For every code scanned,
codes to provide independent third-party information
Heinz donated money to the Wounded Warrior Project.
regarding functionality, traceability and sustainability of
ingredients. • Cadbury has turned its
packaging into a game in the
• Some codes lead to recipe information. Kraft is rolling out
U.K. using Blippar. Most Cadbury
QR codes on five cheese products that lead to recipes; the
bars carry the augmented
aim is to provide cooking “inspiration.” Similarly, Pacific
reality-style game, which will
Natural Foods will put the codes on packaging to provide
change over time.
recipes and other info (how-to videos, shopping lists,
Image credit: Blippar 85

• One theme here is a trend we’ve termed Worlds Colliding: the borders between the online and “real” worlds
becoming fuzzier. As smartphones proliferate and tablets too, more people are fluidly toggling between digital
and physical space; we’re also seeing the introduction of other “smart” devices (i.e., Internet-enabled).
Marketers will need to holistically and seamlessly bridge platforms and worlds.
• This will mean everything from promoting mobile apps to enabling multichannel purchasing and experimenting
with packaging as a platform, which extends the brand message and presents largely untested opportunities for
games, special offers, social interactions and education.
• Another ongoing trend here is Hyper-Personalization: Consumers will come to expect a personalized digital realm
that offers up what they are most likely to need or want based on location, interests, social network and so on,
rather than a Web that offers vast stores of material. Brands will need to smartly filter content, messaging and
recommendations to individual tastes and other factors (location, device used, time of day, etc.), much as online
ads are targeted. The countertrend: a newfound interest in reintroducing randomness, discovery and different
perspectives to our lives.
86
Increasingly, brands are applying game mechanics (leader boards,
leveling, stored value, privileges, superpowers, status indicators,
• Apps That Gamify Eating
etc.) to non-gaming spaces in an attempt to drive certain actions
or behaviors. This is more than brand-sponsored games—consumers • Gamifying the Business Model
are engaging in brand communities, content or campaigns through • What It Means for Brands
incentives and rewards modeled on behavioral economics. In food,
gamification can help to motivate not only good eating habits (e.g.,
Foodzy) but also customer creativity and engagement.
Image credit: darioalvarez 87

Mobile media is putting a new spin on competitive eating,
thanks to apps that encourage users to eat less or better, rate
food and post pictures for bragging rights and more.
Foodzy, an Amsterdam-based startup that got off the ground

last year, turns self-tracking into sport: People aiming to lose
weight and/or simply adopt healthier habits can compare
what they’ve eaten with friends and compete to reach goals
while keeping tabs on their consumption. The tool tries
to keep things light with some badges unrelated to good
behavior, like a BBQ badge for frequent grillers.
Foodspotting, a visual app as the name suggests, puts the

emphasis on specific dishes and documenting the foodie
experience, with users encouraged to take photos of
restaurant dishes and compile themed lists of favorites.
Contributors earn “virtual tips” and can become “dish
experts,” but the app also relies on social media’s innate
competitiveness. The one-upmanship so common on
Facebook—food photos often stir envy—becomes more
explicit here.
Image credit: Foodzy 88

Elements of gamification in food have been around for at
least as long as the McDonald’s-Monopoly partnership. When
Foursquare entered the scene, gamification came easy, with
check-ins earning users mayorships, badges and discounts
at participating establishments. Taking it a step further, last
year the Buffalo Wild Wings chain teamed up with SCVNGR,
the location-based gaming platform, for an interactive
competition leading up to NCAA’s March Madness; 184,000
people participated across the U.S. And Starbucks
partnered with Lady Gaga for SRCH, a scavenger hunt that
incorporated QR code-scanning with smartphones.
But 4food in New York, which opened in 2010, is one of

the first restaurants to integrate gamification into its
business model. Patrons of the burger joint can customize
their order—choosing from a dizzying number of possible
combinations—and name it, and the burger gets added
to the “Buildboard Chart.” Others can then buy the same
combo, earning the creator 25 cents a pop to use at the
restaurant. Customers can compete for the top slots using
social media to create buzz, marketing the restaurant in
the process.
Image credit: 4food 89

• Broadly, “gamification” can increase brand loyalty and engagement, push people to exercise influence over their
peers and/or get them to consider buying something, doing something or going somewhere for the first time.
Brands can encourage competition or a competitive spirit to drive desired results, or add a sense of play or fun
into traditional promotions or everyday activities.
• Gamification can be a great tool in motivating good behavior, and we’ll see more attempts to drive good eating
habits through competition or simple reward incentives. For instance, restaurants could team with weight-loss
programs to reward diners when they choose healthier alternatives.
• While technology is a major driver here, we’ll also see brands using analogue techniques as simple as smiley faces
to inject gaming elements. Brands that use game mechanics most successfully will allow users to define their own
goals and provide multiple scenarios in which they can earn points and achieve rewards.
* To learn more about All the World’s a Game, see our 10 Trends for 2011.
90
More flat surfaces are becoming screens, and more screens are • Screened Dining
becoming interactive. Increasingly we’ll be touching them, • Kiosks/Vending Machines
gesturing at them and talking to them. This is opening up novel
opportunities to inform, engage and motivate consumers, whether • Interactive Out-of-Home Ads
through screens at restaurants, on vending machines and kiosks, • What It Means for Brands
or via out-of-home ads.
Image credit: waldyrious 91

Screens are slowly getting integrated into the restaurant
experience, replacing menus or even workers and adding
some entertainment.
Interactive Tables: Technologies such as the

Draqie interactive table and Microsoft Surface allow
customers to browse menus and conveniently order by
touching, tapping and swiping.
In New York, a restaurant at high-end department store

Barney’s features 30 individual screens in a large communal
table that’s covered in glass. Diners can digitally order
their meal, then browse the store’s catalog while eating.
At London’s Inamo restaurants, E-Table technology grants
customers control over their dining experience: A ceiling
projector effectively turns the tabletop into an interactive
screen that diners can navigate using a built-in mouse;
they can view menus, play games, change the virtual
tablecloth and even order a taxi.
Image credit: Draqie 92

E-menus: E la Carte’s Presto and
TableTop Media’s Ziosk are tablets
that allow diners to order and pay
from a device at their table. iPads
work well too: Delta Air Lines
has installed them at some of its airline-terminal
restaurants, while the device enables patrons at restaurants
like Stacked in California to customize their dishes, place
orders and pay. Restaurants are also putting wine lists
on iPads, making them easily searchable by category,
including price.
Screens Over Cashiers: McDonald’s has been

adding touch-screen terminals on which customers
can browse the menu, order and pay. The company
has more than 800 self-order kiosks in Europe and,
in May 2011, said it was considering expansion of
the initiative.
Image credits: E la Carte; Delta;

McDonald’s 93
Percentage of American and British adults who would Percentage of American and British adults who would be
be very or somewhat comfortable doing the following: very or somewhat comfortable doing the following:
Male Female
Browsing an interactive
Browsing an 87 menu on a tablet or 70
interactive menu on digital surface instead
a tablet or digital 74 72% of a paper menu 63
surface instead of a
paper menu 55
Paying for the 65
meal with an
78 automated system 59
Paying for the meal
with an automated
70 66% Using an automated 62
system 51 system to get my
waiter’s attention 54
Using an 74 Placing my order
automated 52
with an automated
system to get
my waiter’s
63 62% system instead of
the waiter/waitress
48
attention 48
Using a self-serve kiosk
to assign me a table
54
71 at a restaurant instead
Placing my order with an 45
of the host/hostess
automated system instead
of the waiter/waitress
59 56%
37
Using a self-serve kiosk 69

to assign me a table at
a restaurant instead of 58 55%
the host/hostess
37
94
Video rental kiosks from Redbox, Blockbuster Express Intel and Kraft’s “Meal Planning Solution”: This touch-
and others have brought touch-screen technology to the screen kiosk helps users plan their shopping, pick recipes
everyday vending experience. More recently, prototype and try free samples. Using facial recognition via a built-in
machines have hinted at the potential for using interactive camera, the device creates a basic profile (such as age and
screens to enable social media sharing and customized gender). Shoppers can then browse through menus, select
recommendations. dishes and download a related shopping list onto their phone.
PepsiCo’s Social Vending System: This prototype features

a large touch screen that allows users to send a soda to
friends. Customers select a beverage, then enter the
friend’s name, mobile number and a text message,
which includes a code for redemption at
another machine; users can also record a
short video message, making the experience
even more dynamic. For the altruistic, there’s
an option to send a beverage to a stranger.
Image credits: Pepsi;

Intel 95
Interactive screens on out-of-home digital media allow • British cider brand Bulmers installed interactive HD
for all kinds of innovative ways to communicate with screens at various U.K. bus stops. People waiting for the
passersby. They offer a way to gamify the simple bus could drag virtual fridge magnets to create words and
bus-stop ad or billboard, making marketing messages more phrases, and share these with friends via social media.
fun and helping to amuse commuters. They can add utility,
enabling consumers to locate stores, reserve restaurant
tables or request more information. Built-in social
networking capabilities compress the sharing process to a
simple touch of the button or wave of the hand. Consumers
can also be connected with strangers for engaging social
experiences.
A few examples:
• In Helsinki, local restaurant Lämpö placed a touch screen
at a tram stop that allowed users to reserve tables.
• In a 2011 campaign, Philadelphia Cream Cheese sponsored

touch screens at bus stops in major Irish cities, enabling
commuters to view the brand’s commercials, browse
recipes and even email these to themselves.
Image credits: DDFH&B;

clearchannel.co.uk 96
• Interacting with screens in more ways and more places will become a part of everyday behavior for many
consumers as technology rapidly advances, costs drop, and retailers and marketers find innovative ways to
implement interactive screens. These screens can help to educate customers, entertain, engage and provide
unique utility beyond that offered by traditional media.
• For retailers, screens present an opportunity to embed interactive elements of the online experience in the
physical store. Screens can provide more details about the products and services a customer is most interested
in, and eventually even customized information (via facial recognition and profiling technologies). They also
allow retailers to extend communication with customers outside business hours.
• Touching, tapping and swiping will be second nature to the youngest generation as screens become seamlessly
embedded into more of our daily experiences. Down the road, we’ll see new kinds of surfaces becoming
interactive, from windows and mirrors to floors.
* To learn more about Screened Interactions, see our 10 Trends for 2012.
97
Retail spaces are increasingly serving as a “third space” that’s
• Food Halls
only partly about consumption. Supermarkets and other food- • Communal Eating
centric outlets are becoming as much about experiences,
• Shops That Do More
unique environments and customer service as they are about
simply buying goods. • What It Means for Brands
Image credit: .Italo Treno - NTV S.p.A. 98

Concept markets are offering an experience that • In Madrid, the Mercado San Antón, a former street
encompasses shopping, dining and snacking—a destination market, is now an enclosed three-floor space that
that’s an end in itself. They re-create the idea of the combines traditional food shopping with small food stands
traditional public market—think such popular spots as La and a restaurant, cooking demonstrations and nightlife.
Boqueria in Barcelona and Pike Place in Seattle—or European
food hall and amp up the experience. • The Plaza Food Hall by Todd English, at The Plaza hotel in
Manhattan, incorporates several food stations, a wine bar,
• Eataly, which started out in Torino in 2007, now operates a specialty-foods market and cooking demonstrations. In
in six other Italian cities and another half-dozen Japanese the spring it will expand to include outlets of several well-
locations, as well as New York City. It’s a Disneyland of sorts known New York food merchants. “It’s a whole experiential
for Italian food lovers, with the Manhattan outlet offering offering,” says the managing partner behind it.
a wide range of mostly Italian products (from pasta and
wine to housewares and fresh foods); a coffee bar, a gelato
bar and sit-down dining, including a beer garden; and
some cooking classes. According to some reports, Eataly
will expand to Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Toronto
and Mexico City over the next decade.
Image credit: The Plaza Food Hall 99

While communal eating is a way of life in some cultures, traveling. The service has more than 30,000 registered
the West has dispatched with even the family meal. But users. In Canada, The Social Feed is a similar concept that
increasingly people are looking to food as a way to foster operates in Vancouver and Toronto. And more broadly, Eat
more real-life interactions with new faces, thanks perhaps With Me focuses on “connecting people through food,”
to a backlash against isolation in the digital world or a enabling users to create events or join one.
craving for more random, unique interactions.
Communal seating is becoming a popular option at

restaurants, putting strangers elbow to elbow. And that’s
one of the draws of supper clubs, the informal, home-
based periodic restaurants that started springing up a few
years ago. Last autumn in New York, the nonprofit Friends
of the High Line staged a Social Soup Experiment, where
attendees sat at a communal table for a one-pot meal.
Grubwithus, which touts itself as a way to “Eat with

awesome people,” is a website and now an app that
lets users buy seats for 10-person communal dinners at
restaurants in a dozen U.S. cities. Like-minded people can
cluster together around interests like wine, startups and
Image credit: Grubwithus 100

We’re seeing more retailers that strive to create
stimulating gathering spaces for home cooks and foodies.
• The new Haven’s Kitchen, in a Manhattan carriage house,

offers a “warm and dedicated community” focused
around cooking classes, but there’s also a market with
coffee, baked goods, specialty pantry ingredients and
housewares, and a monthly supper club. The focus is on
local, sustainably grown foods.
• At The Brooklyn Kitchen, shoppers can buy state-of-the-

art knives, then take a class on how to use them. The
store sells kitchen essentials and foods, and includes a
teaching space, where the focus is on a range of skills,
many of them old-school, such as butchering, canning
and pickling.
• Shed is a planned market, café, events center and retail

space due to open in fall 2012 in foodie-centric wine
country in Northern California. The owners expect to offer
al fresco dining, workshops and regional farm produce at
the Healdsburg store.
Image credits: Haven’s Kitchen;

The Brooklyn Kitchen 101
FOOD OUTLETS AS THE THIRD SPACE


Male Female
I would be interested in I would be interested in shopping at
shopping at a grocery store 74 a grocery store that offers something 59
that offers something a a little extra that is different from
little extra that is different
from their day-to-day
66 63% their day-to-day service, like a 58
special event, speaker or class
service, like a special 48
event, speaker or class If the restaurants I like 56
held special events (classes,
If the restaurants I entertainment, a speaker series,
like held special events 72 52
etc.), I would likely check them out
(classes, entertainment,
a speaker series, 61 59% I like the idea of communal tables
etc.), I would likely 39
check them out 43 at restaurants and the ability to
interact with other diners 30
I like the idea of 55
communal tables at
restaurants and the
ability to interact
42 40%
with other diners 22
102
• The downturn made many consumers more discriminating; a retailer that can’t compete on price needs more
points of differentiation. At the same time, consumers can get most everything they need online, or via
multichannel shopping (see Smarter Shopping), but they still have a need to connect face-to-face and to interact
with live sales/service people and the product.
This means the in-store experience is increasingly paramount, and spaces that provide something uniquely
fun, helpful, satisfying or distinctive will attract shoppers and diners’ attention. In offering A-plus service and
experiences—education, entertainment, a place to socialize—that go beyond the typically transparent attempts
at driving sales, retailers give consumers more reasons to enter their spaces and spend time with their products.
• The challenge is to creatively rethink spaces, turning them into places where customers can test merchandise,
find a unique selection all under one roof, simply sit and chat, interact with engaging/informative screens,
attend entertaining or educational events, or enjoy a meal. As important: providing knowledgeable and helpful
staff who can help make repeat trips to the store worthwhile.
* To learn more about Retail as the Third Space, see our 10 Trends for 2011.
103
SUDHIR KANDULA, America’s Next Great Restaurant contestant
Kandula has traveled many miles in search of incredible food, even moving to Paris for a few years to understand food, eat a lot
and learn how to cook better. In 2011, he was a runner-up on the NBC show America’s Next Great Restaurant. His mission is to reset
America’s perception of Indian food, and he hopes to launch Tiffin Box (his proposed concept on America’s Next Great Restaurant),
Ashram (a vegetarian concept) and edibleIndia.tv to showcase the delicious and surprisingly healthy cuisine from India’s coasts.
Kandula works as VP of enterprise sales at SinglePlatform. He has a master’s in electrical engineering and also graduated
from the culinary program at the Cordon Bleu in Paris.
What’s the most exciting thing happening in your corner of the food realm right now?
My corner of the food realm is rather unique—I was a runner-up on a food reality TV competition, I consider myself a very
well-educated and highly opinionated eater, a bit of a specialist on ethnic cuisines, a former restaurateur and soon to be the
founder of a great fast-casual Indian restaurant.
I am rather excited about the return of smaller/more intimate eating venues (Brooklyn Fare), the resurgence of truly world-
class ethnic cooking (Pok Pok [in Portland, Ore.], Red Farm, Danji, Tulsi, Dosa), and healthier and gourmet fast-casual fare
(Spice Kit [in San Francisco]). I am also quite excited to see molecular gastronomy fading and the push to get more fruit and
vegetables to underserved communities.
What do you think has changed significantly in the past few years?
The availability of better and more exciting options for lunch in urban areas for $10 or less. I was an early advocate for the
proliferation of food trucks—they get people out, you socialize a bit while you wait and get amazing food (most of the time)
for a very reasonable price. I hope they go from strength to strength in the next few years.
105
What are some of the key factors that have been driving these shifts?
One of the key factors for these changes is boredom—people are getting jaded with food. Whether it be in the realm of fine
dining or fast casual, we were being fed more of the same. The proliferation of cooking shows also contributes to a more
demanding diner.
Any other trends you’ve been noting?

I see culinary technology getting away from being gimmicky (foams, airs, gels, etc.) to being true game changers (help with
faster braising). I think pressure cookers will be as common as they are in third world countries. The juice diets will die out
soon—I find them incredibly irritating. The return to common sense is what I hope for.
What are a few things you see bubbling up?

Americans consuming a greater bio-diversity (thanks to the likes of [Noma chef] René Redzepi), consuming smaller quantities
of meat, smaller portions. I want to be a part of a generation that will work to make better ingredients available to all—no
matter their economic status. On an unrelated note, I would love to bring true Singapore-style hawker stalls to America—
ethnic, artisanal, delicious and inexpensive.
106
APPENDIX: ELISE KORNACK
ELISE KORNACK, co-founder, Take Root; Chopped contestant

Kornack recalls her childhood home often smelling of tomatoes, basil and garlic—her mother always started pasta sauce on
Saturday morning for Sunday dinner. After graduating from college, she moved to New York City to work at The Spotted Pig and
more recently served as sous chef at Aquavit. She also appeared on Food Networks’ Chopped as a contestant and winner.
In September 2011, Elise and her partner founded Take Root, which combines the ideals of eating seasonally and locally
with principals of practicing yoga. An offset of Take Root is Brooklyn Rooted, private and unique dinner parties featuring
seasonal, artisanal cuisine. Kornack hosts Brooklyn Rooted dinners through the website SideTour, which she explains here.
Small, intimate dining experiences—like our Brooklyn Rooted—where the chef is able to speak to the diners. It seems that
conversation between the guests regarding growing, making and eating food is happening naturally, and as a result the
diners are able to understand how a chef transforms inspiration, processes ingredients and composes menus.
Because everyone is trying to do farm-to-table cuisine, there is much less variety when dining out, and thus chefs are
seemingly a bit complacent in their efforts to create new flavor profiles. The menus are a bit stagnant, little imagination or
precision, the attitude of, “It’s winter, so we will get through the next few months by roasting every root vegetable at the
market.” Every restaurant has a version of roasted beets—roots are not the only available produce in January; similarly,
pork is certainly not the only protein.
January’s harvest is actually rather abundant with interesting ingredients, like turmeric root, sunchokes and black radish.
Not to mention, simply serving vegetables raw makes them taste as fresh as they do in July.
107
For myself, some of the factors driving these new developments would be environmental awareness, interest
in health, wellness and nostalgia for childhood/simpler times. I constantly find myself making choices that will
protect my planet, my body, my mind and fill my heart with memories of cooking with my family.

I have noted a shift in where people acquire recipes and suggestions on where to dine. There is nothing more
satisfying to me than opening up a cookbook and paging through, sometimes looking at pictures but always being
inspired by where I bought the book or who gave it to me. Now, apps and programs have taken the place of
recipe bookkeeping and exchanging ideas by word of mouth—losing the intimacy in cooking and inspiration from
our families or regional, seasonal produce.

I anticipate a shift towards lifestyle cuisine: developing eating habits that are not radically nutritious but more
environmentally and socially conscious. I hope to see more chefs creating menus that are in tune with not only
seasonal produce but also our body’s response to variables like temperature, moisture, time of day and our
relationships, similar to the Ayurvedic principle of doshas (a dosha: one of three bodily humors that make up
one’s constitution, according to Ayurveda)—transforming typical boring vegetarian cuisine so that it’s preferred
for both taste and physiological benefits.
108
MICHAEL LEE, founder, Studiofeast
Lee is the founder of Studiofeast, a culinary collective that creates new dining experiences with pop-up events.
Studiofeast events are a platform for new ideas in dining but are all firmly rooted in the pursuit of a great time.
Lee is a self-trained cook who raises the flag for the home chef and aims to inspire everyday people to pursue their
creative passions (cooking or otherwise) to a level beyond anything they have imagined. By day, Lee is director of
strategy with Bond Strategy & Influence in New York, a marketing consulting agency. In his spare time, he enjoys
running, pork products and whiskey.
I’m excited by the prospect of having more authentic storylines associated with the food we eat. We’re living in a world
where digital media has knocked over the fourth wall of how food is made at every step—how it’s farmed, handled and
cooked—and it’s creating an environment where anyone dealing in food is going to look suspect if they can’t credibly tell how
or why the food exists.
Things like traceability and provenance are becoming standard expectations among the dining public, and that’s a positive
force for sure. But I’m most thrilled by seeing better stories being told by and about the chefs, farmers and purveyors who
make the food we love.
Things like what McSweeney’s has done creating amazing narratives behind the world of Dave Chang/Momofuku with Lucky
Peach (both print and the upcoming iPad app) and telling the wonderful story of Mission Street Food in San Francisco. Food52,
which raises the bar on what a recipe website should be and going the extra mile to tell stories about cooking that are much
more useful and real than anything you see on the Food Network. Or the multitude of opportunities for farmers using Twitter/
Facebook to connect urban farmers and market-goers with their farms. It’s also what we at Studiofeast have been doing—
creating unique social experiences that tell more of a story with the food we serve.
109
This is the kind of thing digital media was meant to be used for, and I think the food world is getting more adept with
it today. Having a story is so important, because on the production side (chefs, purveyors, farmers, etc.) it lets you
differentiate yourself much better and creates ways to engage with eaters in a way that people have rarely been able to do.
If you look at Lucky Peach, it’s brilliant what they did by diving into the mind of Chang and his obsessions, his adventures and
his quirks. Diners can now connect with his food on a much more interesting level. It can boost the enjoyment factor for a
diner, but it also creates a demand for food that has nothing to hide.
The more that people who make food can tell real, credible and compelling stories, the better we are as a whole, because it
marginalizes those who obfuscate how food is made.
What inspired Studiofeast and the idea of creating unique social experiences that involve telling a story around food?
Studiofeast sprang out of the notion that the dinner parties I had with my friends at home were some of the best times I’ve
ever spent, despite there being such a wealth of great dining to be had in NYC. We started the group to put on events that
re-created the level of food you’d find at a nice restaurant but had the feel of being in your friend’s living room for a casual
dinner. When you put strangers in a room together and give them all a shared experience with food, great things happen and
connections are made.
The story that comes across in the food—either through an overall theme or through our own interactions with our guests—
is what gives everyone something to react to as a group. When you’re in a restaurant, you’re there with your own group,
ordering your own food and your own wine—there really isn’t anything you have in common with other people in the room.
What we do is put people on the same page with that story, and love it or hate it, you’re all in it together and you can
start to bond over it. Every year, we do our “Last Meal,” where we create dishes based on a survey of our mailing lists’ last
meal wishes. Within minutes, everyone is on a first-name basis because it’s that question that breaks the ice and starts a
conversation across the table.
110
APPENDIX: STEPHANIE STIAVETTI
STEPHANIE STIAVETTI, food blogger (TheCulinaryLife.com) and writer

Stiavetti is a food writer in the San Francisco Bay Area. She particularly loves cooking adventurously,
taking everyday foods and making them edible by anyone, regardless of dietary restrictions. She
writes the food blog TheCulinaryLife.com and writes for media outlets including NPR, KQED and the
Huffington Post. Her first book, Melt: the Art of Macaroni and Cheese, is due out in 2013 with
co-author Garrett McCord.
Lots of lovely things are going on in the Bay Area—super-unique artisan cocktails are in right now, cookbook reading
groups are making a resurgence, and macaroni and cheese contests have been popping up (usually small community
groups as opposed to those run by a brand or business). Coconut products have been popping up as well.
People are still holding strong on DIY projects (making their own at home versus buying at the store), but they’re beginning to
make a turn back to fast and easy, and trying to find an intersection of the two.
People are starting to find jobs again as the economy begins to see a little light, so time is again a commodity.

I’m seeing lots of comfort food done with healthy alternative ingredients: bread pudding, but with agave and quinoa, or
macaroni and cheese salads with gluten-free pasta and farm-fresh feta. Gluten-free products have matured quite a bit,
going from niche to mainstream in their elegance and style, making them dishes you’d be proud to serve at a dinner party
or other event.
111
APPENDIX: STEPHANIE STIAVETTI (cont’d.)

Vinegars seems to be becoming more popular, with folks buying more unique artisan acid flavors to accent their dishes, and
pies are making a huge comeback. Also, petit fours might be appearing more, so I’d keep an eye out for those.
112
FIGURE 2F: FIGURE 2G:
Curbing Food Waste (U.S.) Curbing Food Waste (U.K.)
Percentage of American adults who agree: Percentage of British adults who agree:
Millennials (21-34) Gen Xers (35-47) Boomers (48-67) Millennials (21-34) Gen Xers (35-47) Boomers (48-67)
I’m concerned about 72 I’m concerned about 77

the environmental the environmental
impacts of food
waste
73 72% impacts of food
waste
80 77%
71 73
I would respect a 90 I would respect a 92

grocery store or grocery store or
restaurant that 87 88% restaurant that 89 90%
made an effort to made an effort to
curb food waste 87 curb food waste 89
82 87
I’ve tried to cut down I’ve tried to cut down
on the amount of food
72 75% on the amount of food
85 85%
sake of the environment 71 sake of the environment 82
114
FIGURE 2H: FIGURE 2I:
Curbing Food Waste (U.S.) Curbing Food Waste (U.K.)
Male Female Male Female
I’m concerned about 64 I’m concerned about 65

the environmental the environmental
impacts of food waste 71 impacts of food waste 82
I would respect a grocery 87 I would respect a grocery store 85

store or restaurant that made or restaurant that made an
an effort to curb food waste 89 effort to curb food waste 94
I’ve tried to cut down on I’ve tried to cut down on

72 79
the amount of food waste I the amount of food waste I
produce for the sake of the produce for the sake of the
76 environment
91
environment
115
FIGURE 2J: FIGURE 2K:
Who Has a Responsibility to Curb Food Waste (U.S.) Who Has a Responsibility to Curb Food Waste (U.K.)
86 88
Restuarants have a Restuarants have a
curb food waste
85 83% responsibility to help
curb food waste
86 87%
79 88
Brands and 90 Brands and 90

manufacturers have manufacturers have
a responsibility to 79 82% a responsibility to 85 87%
help curb food waste help curb food waste
77 85
79 91
Grocery stores have a Grocery stores have a
curb food waste
curb food waste
87 87%
73 84
82 91
The government has a The government has a
curb food waste
curb food waste
85 82%
55 70
116
FIGURE 2L: FIGURE 2M:
Who Has a Responsibility to Curb Food Waste (U.S.) Who Has a Responsibility to Curb Food Waste (U.K.)
Restuarants have a 81 Restuarants have a 84

responsibility to help responsibility to help
Brands and manufacturers 80 Brands and manufacturers 83

have a responsibility to have a responsibility to
help curb food waste 81 help curb food waste 90
Grocery stores have a 75 Grocery stores have a 85

The government has a 63 The government has a 78

117
Food Packaging (U.S.) Food Packaging (U.K.)
Food manufacturers 88 Food manufacturers 84

need to cut down need to cut down
on the amount of 80 83% on the amount of 93 90%
packaging they use packaging they use
82 93
79 87
Most foods use too
much packaging
78 78% Most foods use too
much packaging
89 89%
77 90
I try to limit 74 I try to limit 73

the amount of the amount of
food packaging I
waste each day
65 69% food packaging I 73 75%
waste each day
67 80
I’m buying less bottled 71 I’m buying less bottled 68

water because of the water because of the
environmental impact 61 63% environmental impact 61 62%
of the plastic bottles of the plastic bottles
58 56
I make my food 42 I make my food 56

purchasing decisions purchasing decisions
based on how much 43 38% based on how much 41 43%
packaging is used packaging is used
28 31
118
APPENDIX: THE DEVIL WEARS PACKAGING (cont’d.)
FIGURE 3E: FIGURE 3F:

Food Packaging (U.S.) Food Packaging (U.K.)

Food manufacturers Food manufacturers
need to cut down 81 need to cut down 87
on the amount of on the amount of
packaging they use 85 packaging they use 94
Most foods use too

74 Most foods use too
86
much packaging much packaging
82 92
I try to limit I try to limit

the amount of
66 the amount of
69
food packaging I food packaging I
waste each day
72 waste each day
84
I’m buying less bottled I’m buying less bottled

59 water because of the
54
environmental impact environmental impact
65 of the plastic bottles
67
I make my food I make my food

38 purchasing decisions
41
based on how much based on how much
packaging is used
32 packaging is used
40
119
Going Behind the Scenes (U.S.) Going Behind the Scenes (U.K.)
I like when 81 I like when 81

commercials show commercials show
me the “behind the 76 76% me the “behind the 67 68%
scenes” story about scenes” story about
the food I consume 71 the food I consume 56
I wish I knew more 83 I wish I knew more 76

about how the food I about how the food I
eat is produced (how
it is grown or who is
73 75% eat is produced (how 67 66%
it is grown or who is
growing it) 69 growing it) 55
Brands do not disclose Brands do not disclose
enough information 83 enough information 78
about the environmental about the environmental
impact of their food
63 71% impact of their food 72 70%
is made or where the 68 is made or where the 59
ingredients come from ingredients come from
120
Going Behind the Scenes (U.S.) Going Behind the Scenes (U.K.)

I like when commercials I like when commercials
show me the “behind the 72 show me the “behind the 64
scenes” story about the scenes” story about the
food I consume 78 food I consume 68
I wish I knew more about I wish I knew more about

how the food I eat is 72 how the food I eat is 62
produced (how it is grown produced (how it is grown
or who is growing it) 75 or who is growing it) 65
Brands do not disclose Brands do not disclose
enough information about enough information about
the environmental impact 70 the environmental impact 67
of their food products, how of their food products, how
their food is made or where 73 their food is made or where 69
the ingredients come from the ingredients come from
121
APPENDIX: LIVE A LITTLE

Living a Little (U.S.) Living a Little (U.K.)
An indulgent snack/ 98 An indulgent snack/ 93

meal every once in a meal every once in a
while gives me a nice
break from the day-
85 90% while gives me a nice
break from the day-
89 90%
to-day grind 87 to-day grind 89
Life is too short not 89 Life is too short not 85

to have an indulgent to have an indulgent
snack/meal every 89 89% snack/meal every 89 88%
once in a while once in a while
88 91
Even if money is tight,

88 85
Even if money is tight, I
I deserve to splurge
on a nice meal every
86 85% deserve to splurge on a nice
meal every once in a while
77 82%
once in a while
80 84
There is so much
pressure to have 89 There is so much pressure 80
perfect nutrition habits to have perfect nutrition
that once in a while I 89 89% habits that once in a while 76 77%
need to indulge myself I need to indulge myself
and take a break 88 and take a break 76
88 69
I wish that I wasn’t I wish that I wasn’t
reminded of how I should
keep a healthy diet to
86 85% reminded of how I should
keep a healthy diet to
65 65%
improve my lifestyle 80 improve my lifestyle every 61
every time I turn around time I turn around
122
Living a Little (U.S.) Living a Little (U.K.)

An indulgent snack/meal An indulgent snack/meal
every once in a while gives 88 every once in a while gives 85
me a nice break from me a nice break from
the day-to-day grind 92 the day-to-day grind 92
Life is too short not to have 89 Life is too short not to have 87
an indulgent snack/meal an indulgent snack/meal
every once in a while 89 every once in a while 87
Even if money is tight, I Even if money is tight, I
deserve to splurge on a nice 85 deserve to splurge on a nice 83
meal every once in a while meal every once in a while
84 80
There is so much pressure There is so much pressure to

to have perfect nutrition 72 have perfect nutrition habits 74
habits that once in a while that once in a while I need to
I need to indulge myself 78 indulge myself and take a break 79
and take a break
I wish that I wasn’t I wish that I wasn’t reminded
reminded of how I should 56 of how I should keep a healthy 68
keep a healthy diet to diet to improve my lifestyle
improve my lifestyle every 60 every time I turn around 59
time I turn around
123
Screened Dining (U.S.) Screened Dining (U.K.)
Percentage of American adults who would be very or Percentage of British adults who would be very or
somewhat comfortable doing the following: somewhat comfortable doing the following:
Browsing an 87 Browsing an 86
interactive menu on interactive menu on
a tablet or digital 80 75% a tablet or digital 64 67%
surface instead of a surface instead of a
paper menu 58 paper menu 51
76 82
Paying for the Paying for the
meal with an 75 69% meal with an
automated system
59 62%
automated system
55 46
74 74
Using an automated Using an automated
system to get my
waiter’s attention
64 65% system to get my
waiter’s attention
60 56%
58 34
Placing my order
69 73
Placing my order with
with an automated
system instead of
62 58% an automated system
instead of the waiter/
52 51%
the waiter/waitress waitress
43 29
Using a self-serve kiosk 70 Using a self-serve kiosk 69

to assign me a table at to assign me a table at
a restaurant instead of 63 59% a restaurant instead of 48 48%
the host/hostess the host/hostess
44 28
124
Screened Dining (U.S.) Screened Dining (U.K.)
Percentage of American adults who would be very or Percentage of British adults who would be very or
somewhat comfortable doing the following: somewhat comfortable doing the following:

Browsing an interactive Browsing an interactive
menu on a tablet or 73 menu on a tablet or 64
digital surface instead digital surface instead
of a paper menu 66 of a paper menu 59
Paying for the 67 Paying for the 62

meal with an meal with an
automated system 60 automated system 56
Using an automated 66 Using an automated 54

system to get my system to get my
waiter’s attention 58 waiter’s attention 48
Placing my order Placing my order

with an automated
54 with an automated
48
system instead of system instead of
the waiter/waitress
51 the waiter/waitress
44
Using a self-serve kiosk Using a self-serve kiosk

to assign me a table at
60 to assign me a table at
45
a restaurant instead of a restaurant instead of
the host/hostess
48 the host/hostess
40
125
Food Outlets as the Third Space (U.S.) Food Outlets as the Third Space (U.K.)
I would be interested in I would be interested in

shopping at a grocery store 77 shopping at a grocery store 69
that offers something a that offers something a
little extra that is different
71 67% little extra that is different
57 56%
service, like a special 53 service, like a special 41
event, speaker or class event, speaker or class
If the restaurants I If the restaurants I

like held special events
82 like held special events
58
(classes, entertainment, (classes, entertainment,
a speaker series, 66 64% a speaker series, 52 50%
etc.), I would likely etc.), I would likely
check them out 45 check them out 40
I like the idea of 56 I like the idea of 53

communal tables at communal tables at
restaurants and the
ability to interact
41 41% restaurants and the
ability to interact
45 37%
with other diners 27 with other diners 14
126
Food Outlets as the Third Space (U.S.) Food Outlets as the Third Space (U.K.)

I would be interested in shopping at I would be interested in shopping at
a grocery store that offers something 64 a grocery store that offers something 50
a little extra that is different from a little extra that is different from
their day-to-day service, like a 61 their day-to-day service, like a 54
special event, speaker or class special event, speaker or class
If the restaurants I like held 62 If the restaurants I like held 47

special events (classes, special events (classes,
entertainment, a speaker series, entertainment, a speaker series,
56 46
etc.), I would likely check them out etc.), I would likely check them out
I like the idea of communal tables 41 I like the idea of communal tables 36
at restaurants and the ability to at restaurants and the ability to
interact with other diners 33 interact with other diners 27
127
WHAT’S COOKING?: TRENDS IN FOOD CONTACT:
466 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10017 Written and edited by Marian Berelowitz Ann M. Mack
212-210-7378
www.jwt.com | @JWT_Worldwide Director of trendspotting Ann M. Mack ann.mack@jwt.com
www.jwtintelligence.com | @JWTIntelligence @annmmack
Trends strategists Jessica Vaughn
www.anxietyindex.com | @AnxietyIndex William Palley Marian Berelowitz
marian.berelowitz@jwt.com
Proofreader and contributor Nicholas Ayala
Contributors Aaron Baar

Patty Orsini
Sarah Siegel
Deanna Zammit
Design Peter Mullaney © 2012 J. Walter Thompson Company.

All Rights Reserved.
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SUDHIR KANDULA, ELISE KORNACK, MICHAEL LEE, STEPHANIE STIAVETTI,

*To read our Q&As with these influencers/experts, see Appendix.

Image credit: gwen 7

Image credit: Dîner en Blanc 8

“Food raves,” markets that don’t require vendors to have

Image credits: Smorgasburg;

• Foodzie calls itself a “Tasting Club” and selects foods

• Blissmobox, which offers several monthly options of

Image credits: Craft Coffee;

Insects are another “fear factor” ingredient gaining traction:

Image credit: brianplattcreative.com 11

For example, The Kitchen Restaurant in Sacramento, Calif.,

Image credit: The Kitchen Restaurant 12

Last year, in an “Open Letter to the Chefs of Tomorrow,”

With foodies seeking out more “authentic” and homemade-

Image credits: Amazon [1], [2], [3] 13

Some of this is for the more adventurous (e.g., Grant Achatz’s

Image credit: dinnerbyheston.com 14

The new Discovery Channel series Moonshiners, which turns

Image credits: Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine;

Image credit: Edsel L 16

Image credit: Forage 17

Beer Cocktails: Mixing beer and liquor may not be a first

Image credits: Amazon [1], [2] 18

Image credit: modernistcuisine.com 19

Image credit: see.wolf 21

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Beef could become “the caviar of the future,” an official

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McDonald’s: The company established its Sustainable Land

Chipotle: This fast-casual Mexican food chain, based

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• In the U.S., the Green Restaurant Association has been

Image credits: SRA;

• South Korea’s environment ministry is sponsoring a carbon

Image credits: Max Burgers;

• Unilever’s Food Solutions unit recently

• The Too Good to Waste campaign from the U.K.-based

Image credits: unileverfoodsolutions.us;

• A few restaurants are instituting penalties for those who

• To increase awareness, the Food Network aired a

Image credits: Wafu;

Millennials (21-34) Gen Xers (35-47) Boomers (48-67)

I’m concerned about 66 I’m concerned about

*For generational and gender breakdowns by country, see Appendix.

Millennials (21-34) Gen Xers (35-47) Boomers (48-67)

*For generational and gender breakdowns by country, see Appendix.

© The Monday Campaigns, Inc

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The European Commission has allocated £2.65 million to

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Last year a study by scientists at the University of Oxford

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The Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition,

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they eat and the environment (see chart at right).

I don’t know how 62

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• Simply Bulk Market in Longmont, Colo., is positioned as

• In the planning stages in Austin, Texas, is in.gredients,